Mirror, Mirror
by terrangel
Summary: AU Future Fic: Paige's daughter Evan confronts growing up in a broken home.


**Author Notes: Fanatical tale which disobeys every charmed storyline since about season 4. Bah Humbug. This story is ancient and unedited…you're warned.  
**

**The "Need to Know":**

**Melinda- (Piper and Leo) –21- Whitelighter sensing and orbing**

**Noah- (Phoebe and Cole) –20- Powers bound. **

**Megan- (Piper and Leo) –17- Freezing**

**Evan- (Paige and Mike) –16- Telekinesis Version 1, i.e. Prue type**

**The "kids" called their aunts and uncles and general relations by their first names, none of this Aunt Piper, or whoever business. Phoebe, Cole and Noah live in the old penthouse apartment. Reviews/Criticism would be much appreciated, although not required. One last note about the rating, it's b PG-13 /b for a reason. Sex. Drinking. Drugs. Swearing. Violence. It's all here, so don't read if you don't like. At times some of these things are glorified, but that's not necessarily how I feel about them, so don't do it because the character does. Duh.**

* * *

Comfort. Serenity. Silence. Not what you think of hark rock music is it? Screaming? Drums? Guitar? Bass blaring through headphones set at a dangerous and ensured hearing loss level? They all were pure and simple bliss to me. Let me explain something simple to you; what do you do when someone hits you? You hit them back harder. An eye for an eye plus an ear theory if you will. This can be applied to most situations in life; what do you do when your parents scream at each other? Why you find someone else to scream louder than them. That's exactly where my good buddy Marilyn Manson comes in. Noise is addictive. You can lose yourself in it. You can be lost.

* * *

A hysterical cry reached Evan's ears, a scream that was not part of the song she knew off by heart. She glanced over at her petrified dog shaking in spasmodic motions, remarkably similar to how she used to way back in the beginning of everything. Not trusting her voice to be quiet enough to not alert her screaming parents of her awakened state, she carefully patted the bed beside her and allowed the dog to jump up. Barley curled into her body slowly and nervously, with what Evan assumed was a whimper. Evan picked at the burrs in Barley's thick grey coat and scratched her ear, just how she liked it. She seemed to pacify but she certainly wouldn't be calm enough to sleep, or relax really; Evan knew the feeling. Evan closed her eyes and let the song match her steady breathing and Barley's gentle heartbeat. 

The cold hand touched Evan's face as she jerked her eyes open. Evan was treading in-between worlds, the moment the particular moment between sleep and awakening. Everything was hazy, Evan was 4 again being woken up to go skiing with Daddy and Mummy. Everything snapped back to reality with one forceful jerk.

"Evan. Evan come on. Wake up," Paige whispered frantically at her groggy daughter. Evan's mind was awake and being ambushed with thoughts but her mouth was far from it. She slurred together an attempt to tell Paige to fuck off, but it ended up resembling a weak mutter. Evan rolled over pretending to be asleep; she knew Paige knew that she was awake but Evan really didn't have the energy to deal with her. Paige had pulled these stunts of a midnight wake up and ship out to a near by hotel too frequently for Evan to panic. Paige kept repeating Evan's name over and over and soon resorted to pulling the covers off her, receiving a loud angry protest.

"Evan, get some stuff together." Paige's face was inches away from Evan for a split second, before Paige turned away and disappeared out the door. The vivid image of tearstains and mascara smudges were all that remained in Evan's mind. Her backpack full of textbooks and notes from last June sat on the floor beside the mound of unfolded laundry. In one fluid movement Evan quickly dumped everything on the floor and grabbed random things from around her room. In her rush, she knocked over her little collection of worn and well-loved books and groaned in anticipation of the daunting cleaning task that awaited her tomorrow. She completed her overstuffed bag of belongings by grabbing her video camera, her most precious possession. With a tired sigh, Evan sat back instantly noticing the cigarette lying on the middle of the floor. She stood motionless in a momentary pause of inner reflection and debate, bending down and rolling it in her hand; the feeling was intoxicating but she still held back. The echo of footsteps on the wood floor made Evan's decision for her. She hastily shoved it in her pocket and turned around to face her mother standing at the door, car keys in hand.

Evan wanted sleep more than any other time in her life, she wanted not to feel or think. She didn't have parents in her dreams. The humming of the engine and the heavy breathing of her mother were all she could hear. She contemplated reaching down to grab her headphones but the risk of being forced to talk to her mother was too great; her facade of sleep was enough to prevent any communication between them. Evan carefully opened her eyes to check on their surroundings; they were nowhere near the usual hotel. A wave of panic hit Evan as she questioned her mother's mental stability. Paige sensed Evan's movement and jerked her head over intuitively. Evan met her eyes and a sensation of fear erupted through her; Paige's eyes were so detached and emotionless. Paige turned her head back to the road and opened her mouth as if she was about to speak; Evan took the opportunity to grab her headphones and an angry CD. Anger was the easiest emotion to feel. Evan knew anger. She didn't know what she was feeling. She needed to know. She needed to feel anger. Her finger hesitated over the play button with a glance at her mum. Paige looked over and managed to smile, a pitifully fake smile but it had the intended effect; Evan felt better.

"We're going to Piper's."

* * *

Paige just couldn't bring herself to stop driving. Her vision was clouded, perhaps by her tired eyes, or maybe it was because she wasn't wearing her glasses that she seemed to need more and more these day. She guessed that it was most likely just plain and simple tears. The little snores from Evan gave her more relief than it should have. Paige just couldn't face her right now, she didn't have anything left. She pulled to the side of the road and sat motionless at the wheel. The familiar bridge stood directly in front of her, it's bright lights lighting up the dark sky. She was home and she couldn't help but feel slight childish joy. The real world came crashing back as guilt; remorse, nervousness and fear attacked her stomach as they had been for the entire trip. Did she really want to do this? Go back to everything? And go see the two people who hated her the most. A slight whimpering from Evan seemed to be a message, whether intentional or not. Two people who hated her the most, second to her own daughter. There was really only one option, it was just an option she wanted the least. At that moment anyway. How could she face her sisters like this? But wasn't it just pride that was holding her back? She couldn't do anything but sit, in silence and watch cars zoom by her on the road. People who had somewhere to go and something to do. Slowly the 5 cups of coffee began to take their hold on her bladder and she made her mind up. 

Paige's staccato knock echoed throughout the manor, throwing her into an onslaught of memories. She knew what it was like to hear that knock from inside the house. Nervously, Paige held her shaking hand at her side while dividing her attention between her daughter sleeping in the car and the locked door in front of her. She could hear somebody walking down the stairs and gulped in complete anticipation of a screaming lecture from Piper. Her face appeared from behind the door and Paige looked up at her, unaware of the tears spilling down her face. Piper's eyes searched Paige's face, hesitating on her swollen left eye. In a matter of mere seconds, she grabbed her hand and pulled Paige into the manor. Paige was now aware of Leo's presence on the stairs. "Evan…Evan's in the car."

* * *

Evan groaned as she awoke in Melinda's ex-room. They really did come to Piper. Evan really didn't think that her mum had it in her to face all of this. She stood up, feeling gross for sleeping in her clothes and walked out the room in search of the bathroom and food. The manor looked the same as it did last December. In fact, it looked the same as it did 16 years ago. The last thing she remembered from living here was baking cookies. After that, all she and her mother did was come to the annual Christmas get together. She could hear noises coming from the kitchen and peaked into Meg's room to see if she was awake. Her bed was empty and made, a sure sign that she was around the house somewhere. Evan noticed her mum, passed out on the sofa as she made my way towards the kitchen. 

"Hey sleepy," Piper said as she placed some pancakes on the table. Evan sat down and mumbled thanks. She could feel Piper's eyes on her and she tried to concentrate on cutting the food. Without thinking, Evan Tked the syrup towards her from across the table and Piper jumped in surprise.

"I haven't seen that in years." She said as she laughed to herself. She had a far away glint in her eye and Evan got the impression that she was remembering something or someone else. She sat down across from Evan and they looked at each other in awkwardness. Evan quickly finished her pancakes and stood up. "There's towels in the cupboard to the left of the door if you want a shower. I'd suggest you do it as soon as possible because if there's one thing you should know about Halliwell manor, it's that you don't get a hot shower unless you go first." Piper smiled and turned around to finish doing the dishes. Evan walked out the kitchen, past her mum, up the stairs and into the bathroom, all the while thinking about what she wanted to do tonight when she got home, the last day of summer before her junior school year started.

* * *

Paige finally trudged into the kitchen at 5 pm. She hadn't slept like that since Evan was baby. She had that annoying oversleeping headache and still couldn't believe that she was actually here. She bumped right into Piper as she walked down the hall lost in her thoughts. Paige looked at her, sill unsure on how to act around her. Last night she was just Piper's little sister, like old times. Nothing was said about anything. She just sat with Paige, starring and hugging. 

"Hi."

"Hey. " A dreaded awkward silence. Paige looked up at Piper, guilty and ashamed. She caused this. This awkwardness with her sister. With Piper, the one person who she always thought would be there for her.

"My offer still stands Paige. It always has and it always will." Simple words but they changed her sister's life, just like that.

Paige didn't trust herself to speak so she nodded slowly. Piper seemed to get the message and gave Paige her famous half smile. God Paige missed her.

"Dinner will be ready soon. I think Evan's in Mel's room," Paige watched her face in curiosity as a momentary expression of hurt flashed through her calm smile. It disappeared as quickly as it came on. Paige wanted to ask, but Piper walked away before she could respond.

* * *

Evan sat with her back to Paige, with her music blasting on her headphones. She sighed heavily, knowing the extent of the conversation, which was to take place. Paige tapped her on the shoulder and her eyes sprung open instantly. It had to take one hell of kid to be able to not jump when someone touched her. It was actually a little bit on the concerning side. She gruntingly took off her headphones and sat staring coldly at Paige. 

"Hi."

She just glared intently.

"Uhh…I've been thinking a lot, and I don't know how to say this but…we're not going home."

That got a reaction. Her defiant stare doubled and she arched her eyebrows.

"We're going to stay here for a while. Until your dad and I get things sorted out. I'm going to look for an apartment," Paige paused trying to gauge her daughter's reaction. It was impossible to tell anything. She just sat and stared at her.

"Meg has offered to share a room with you. Or you can share with me. Just for a while…"

"Excuse me" Evan's ice-cold words pierced the air. "I have my own room, back in my own town, with my own father."

Paige flinched at her introduction of the father issue and mentally kicked herself for doing this to her daughter.

"You're staying here Evan." Paige wasn't good at the whole strict parent thing, but if there was one time she needed to pull it off, it was now.

"Why?" Her voice unexpectedly squeaked out. Suddenly her 16-year-old daughter, wasn't 16. She was 5. She was hurt and lost.

"I can't…I can't explain it to you Evan. I want to, but I can't. You need to try to understand..."

Evan stood up and walked off, calm and silent. Paige sat starring in shock at the indented spot on the bed where her daughter was just sitting. Moments later, Paige heard the front door slam shut. She lay back on the bed, looking up at the Aerosmith poster her niece had stuck on her ceiling. That was one good question. Why? She didn't have an answer.

* * *

The door slammed shut, as it had throughout generations of angered Halliwell teens, including Piper's own darling eldest daughter Melinda. Piper sighed, debating on the identity of the culprit. Paige, Megan or Evan? Definitely not Megan, she was one to sulk, not slam. Piper hardly knew Evan, but she didn't seem the door slamming type. But then again there was the problem; Piper just didn't know her. Now Paige, she was fully capable of door slamming 20 years ago, but she's was a very different person now. Long gone were the days of Paigeness, if you will. No more wild nights, crazy stories, unstoppable humour or even a mischievous glint in her eye. For the millionth time in 12 years, Piper felt the familiar unrestrained anger, no hatred, towards Mike, the bastard who ruined her sister's life. The man who took her away from them all. But furthermore, took Evan with them, away from her cousins, and away from her destiny. In truth, Paige had a large part in it all and Piper wasn't ready to forgive her yet, but the things he did and said to Paige were beyond Paige's control. They were beyond anyone's control, so Leo and Phoebe had told Piper anyway. She wasn't sure about that, she shouldn't have let Paige get away so easy. She shouldn't have let Melinda get away so easily either. Piper sighed, then pushed all of her heartache aside and began her trudge up the stairs. 

Paige sub-consciously rolled over on the bed, knowing exactly who was standing over her even although her eyes were still glued shut.

"Hey you."

"Hi." Paige said, keeping her eyes closed. She didn't know why, but she felt like it. She could just imagine Piper's questioning glance. Paige smiled to herself.

"Why so happy?" Piper asked as Paige felt Piper sit down beside her.

"Oh I'm not happy. Not near it. I'm just, I don't know Piper." Paige said as she opened her eyes and looked up into her sister's face, now recognizing for the first time, the wrinkles and worry lines that mirrored her own. Not that they looked old, but more like hey looked…worn.

"Where'd Evan go?"

Paige's shrug didn't seem to satisfy Piper's question as she noticed Piper's worried look creep in. "Don't worry, she does this a lot."

"What, take off?"

"More like….leave temporarily." Paige tried to find the right words to describe her daughter's solution to everything.

"And you let her?"

"I don't have much choice…"

"Paige. I know that you don't want to be the mean parent, but that's not a normal thing. She's got to learn to deal with everything without running away." It surprised Paige how well Piper could read her thoughts, and Evan.

"I try, I really do. She worries me to no end. But whenever I attempt to talk to her, it always ends up as me lecturing and her staring blankly. I keep reverting back to my parents, when they would do exactly the same thing, then I remember what I went out and did after each talk, and well…that scares me. "

Piper smiled and lay back on the bed beside Paige.

"Evan's a good kid hun. The quiet reserved one. One in every generation, right? Sure she's a lot like you, but she's not you. All of this is a lot for any kid to handle; you of all people know that. Just give her some time, she'll come around."

Paige tried to take comfort in the words, but she kept running over the heated conversations she'd had with Evan over the last month. She wanted things to change, but she didn't expect that they ever would. Both sat in a lulled silence, lost in their own thoughts

"Piper."

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you want us staying here? I could look for an apartment…"

"I want you here, that way I can keep an eye on you." Her tone was humorous but Paige could understand the seriousness of that particular comment.

"If you're sure…I mean," Paige started listing things on her hand. "I take long showers. And I have ugly furniture. And I'm horrible at cleaning up. And..."

"Paige! I'm sure." Piper said suffocating Paige in a hug. "Plus, it'll be nice to have some company around. With Mel gone, Leo orbing everywhere and Meg volunteering so much at the hospital…I'm left with nothing to do." This time it was Paige who was the one who pulled Piper into a hug.

"I missed you Paige."

* * *

Megan Halliwell checked her watch, and mentally noted the time. Noah was 46 minutes late. She decided to wait another 4 minutes before sending him harassing text messages on his cell. She pulled out her newly bought book and opened the page to a detailed analysis of the human circulatory system. Before engulfing herself in the wonders of heart related surgery, she glanced across at her sleeping cousin. Meg felt horrible that she hadn't been able to talk to her yet. Every time she was home, Evan was sleeping and Meg got the impression that Evan was avoiding her. They used to be best friends, back when they had the alliances. Them, the little squirts against Noah and Melinda, the big king and queen. Such an unfair way to play when Meg thought about it, but then again, that was so like her sister, pick on the little ones. Things change though and they all grew up, and apart. Evan was taken away, and they rarely saw each other. Meg hadn't seen her sister in years, not that she want to see her. The only one left was Noah, and he was always at his swimming. Just as Meg was about to start reading, Noah came strolling through the door, and plunked himself down on her bed. 

"Hello Noah." Meg said sarcastically as she pushed his dirty feet off her bed.

"Hiya Meg." Noah said with a grin.

"You're late…"

"I was downstairs talking to your mum about the concert." Meg pursed her lips and went back to reading her book.

"Oh come on Meg, don't be mad. I'm still taking you out, just like I promised."

"I was the one who promised you I'd go! Arg! You're absolutely impossible." Meg threw her hands up in frustration as she realized he wasn't even listening to her. He picked up his cellphone and dialled a number.

"Hey Allie, it's me. Just phoning to thank you for last night, that was great sex." Meg grunted and stuck her fingers in her ears. Noah gave her a sly grin. "Talk to you soon." Noah put the phone down, showing his empty hands to Meg in mock surrender. Meg slowly uncovered her ears.

"Ever hear of over sharing Noah?"

"Oh come on Meggy, that's what family is for, to tell wild sex stories to."

"You do, and I'll freeze you."

"Go ahead. We can be late, it doesn't bother me." Noah said as he rolled onto his back and looked up at his punctuality-obsessed cousin.

"I hate you." Meg said as she threw her book at him.

"No you don't."

"Yes, I do."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"We can do this all night Meg. Give it up."

"Fine."

"I believeth that the child hath surrendered."

"I did not. And I'm not a child."

"Riight."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

* * *

Noah slammed down the brake pedal as a guy in a mini veered in front of him. All he could hear over the rock on the radio was his crappy car's even crappier engine rattling away and Megan spewing profanity beside him. She always got so uptight when they were late. It annoyed and amused Noah to no end. 

"Faster. God, you drive like a granny." Meg snapped as pulled up to a red light. Noah turned to glare but she was already lost in her own world, signing to the radio. He shook his head and looked in the review mirror to his littlest cousin, sitting silently in the back seat.

"So squirt, how've you been?" Noah said to Evan cautiously. She looked up in surprise to being called squirt. Meg had to admit; she hadn't heard that particular name in years and she was just as stunned to hear him say it. Noah did always have that soft spot for Evan. Meg had always assumed it was because they were both only children, and she was his replacement little sister. Melinda got Meg, Noah got Evan. Why did Meg feel like she got the short end of the stick? That felt like her life, second best at everything.

"I'm okay. " Evan bit her lip and Meg felt as if she was going to say more, but she didn't. Evan just went back to staring out the window.

Noah swung into the back parking spot of P3 and waved to his band, Dave the drummer and Neil the lead, sitting on the doorstep smoking.

"Ready for a run through guys?" Noah asked as he pulled out his set of borrowed keys and ignored their grunts. They all went inside and Noah turned on all the lights. The club always had a magical feel for him. He'd always preferred it empty. He got such a feeling of excitement, like he was having his own private party. It was amazing really, to think of all the people who pass by through here practically every night. The blaring sound checks signalled Noah's need on stage and he quickly tuned his pride possession, his guitar. It took 2 months of manual labour from his father to save up for it. It was a little on the outdated side but Noah wouldn't exchange it for the world. He smiled at Evan and Meg sitting on the bar counter, seemingly in a conversation. Meg was the band manager. She had those aggravating organization skills that were handy at scheduling practice time with her mum, the band and Noah's swimming. She also decided that she would be the image councillor. Noah doubted her a first but she really was quite amazing at it. She told them how to stand, what to say and most importantly, what to wear.

"4 weeks Noah. 4 weeks till our dream comes true right on this stage." Dave said as he played with the electrical cords surrounding the stage. Noah smiled in response. He still couldn't believe that it was actually going to happen. It had taken his mother months to wear Piper down into letting them play at the club but she did, and here they were. Still, Noah just couldn't get over that gnawing feeling in his stomach that they would mess up, or worse yet, they'd be perfect and people would hate them.

* * *

Evan walked along the perfect street, with the perfect houses and the perfect families, missing her dad. She had an urge to hear his voice, even if it was just him yelling. She pulled out her cellphone and decided to call home. 

"Hello,"

"Dad!" Her heart beat faster and she smiled for the first time in two days. His voice brought her back to that sheltered place of childhood.

"You have reached Michael, Paige and Emily Walker. Leave us a message and we'll call you back." Muffled sounds could be heard on the recording as he tried to find the off button. Evan remembered that day, and the fight that had ensued about her being addressed as Emily in the message. She hated that name. She had renamed herself Evan when she was three because she decided that she wanted to be a boy. Not that Evan wanted to be a boy now, but it just stuck. Evan clicked the phone off and walked in silence, too numb to cry. She scolded herself for getting her hopes up. That was her philosophy, no hopes, no hurt because you can't lose something that was never there. She kicked a pebble along the sidewalk and looked through the eyepiece of the video camera around her neck. She reflected on her first day at the all-famous Baker High. She had spent the entire day in a blur of meaningless faces. She sat by herself all day, listening to her music. Her classes were pointless and boring, except for film class. There was something about the teacher, or rather 'the director' as he wanted to be called, that made her remotely interested. The final assignment for the entire first term was to film one scene that could make every viewer feel only one emotion. Her teacher would watch the scene and write down the one emotion he felt, if it matched the one we were aiming for, they passed. Evan wasn't one to get into the whole school thing, but she couldn't stop thinking of possible ideas to do. She flicked the camera on in her hand and filmed the pebble bouncing it's way down the street. What emotion would that be? Loneliness, anger, boredom or alienation? She tried to watch the pebble without thinking, without feeling. It was impossible. Faces assaulted Evan's mind and events played over and over in her head.

Evan walked through the front door, aware that Piper was lurking around somewhere in the manor, with her jeep parked outside. Just as Evan dumped her backpack on the ground and started up to Meg's room, Piper appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Hey Evan," She slowly made her way down towards Evan.

"Hello." Evan said. She cringed at her own formal tone.

"How was school?"

"Okay, I guess. Oh, Meg's at the newspaper meeting or something."

"Ah. Okay. I think she said something about it this morning. I can't remember. " Piper smiled and Evan noticed the potion bottle in her hand for the first time. Piper caught Evan's gaze.

"Oh, this isn't for a demon or anything, this is just a protection potion. I make them every so often, for backup. " Evan nodded in response.

"Evan…" Piper's voice hovered in the air, obviously trying to decide something. "…how would you like to coming shopping for dinner with me?"

"Uhh…I have a lot of homework." Evan ran her tongue along the roof of her mouth. It was one of those really stupid nervous habits she had. Evan really liked her aunt. She just felt, so…awkward perhaps? Or maybe she was just scared that Piper wouldn't like her. Every adult she'd ever gotten close too, seemed to push her away, and it hurt. Evan jumped in surprise as Piper's arms wrapped around her. Evan had been so lost in her thoughts; she'd fail to notice Piper move in beside her. Piper's embraced seemed to hold unexplainable warmth to Evan.

"You worry too much, anyone ever tell you that?" Piper said as pulled back and tapped Evan on the nose. Evan hated the fact that Piper was babying her, but at the same time, something inside of Evan swelled with joy.

"Not really. I mean, I guess I do…but it's just how I am. Mum says you're the one who worries too much." Evan said shyly. She felt very self-conscious and once again took to fidgeting with her shoe.

"Ahh...but isn't that what every little sister says about her big sister?" Piper said with a humorous undertone and a quick wink. "So, you're sure you're not interested in an action packed adventure to the grocery store with your super cool and only slightly aged aunt? I could really use some help, those paper bags are a bitch to carry." Piper asked Evan on more time. Evan nodded.

"Is that a yes?" Piper said as she held open the door for Evan.

"It's a yes." Evan echoed as she followed Piper out the door. Evan couldn't help but notice the somewhat victorious smile present on Piper's face. Evan despised feeling like she was Piper's project, a fix the niece type of thing, but it still felt wonderful to have someone care.

* * *

"What's your favourite food?" Piper asked as they stood in the express checkout line, that seemed to be moving an inch an hour. Evan leant on the cart and flipped through the trashy Hollywood magazine. Over the last hour, she had slowly lost her conservative edge and although Evan still felt like a stranger to her aunt, Piper no longer felt like that to her. 

"Lasagne"

"I don't think so." Piper said without a second's hesitation. She looked at the magazine in Evan's hand and made an ick face to the male, "turned" female picture on the front cover.

"It is"

"Lasagne? Nope. That's Paige's favourite."

"Soo…like mother, like daughter."

"Nu uh. If I know Paige, and I do, she'll make that all the time. Therefore, you have to be sick of it."

"I'm not. I like it." She glanced over the top of Household Weekly with raised eyebrows. "Fine. I guess my absolute favourite would be…uhh…this rice dish with chicken that I used to get at Jack's."

"Jack's?"

"Oh, that's a restaurant my parent's used to take me. Before it closed down anyway."

"Ah." She nodded and pushed the cart forward with her foot. They both looked up in surprise as the cart hit the cash desk.

"I guess we're here." Piper stated as she began loading their carefully chosen 10 items onto the convey belt. Just as the cashier, who was sporting an unfortunate comb-over rang up the total, Piper turned to Evan.

"Favourite candy?" She questioned as she passed her bankcard to the cashier.

"Red M&M's." Evan said quickly.

"Red? Only red?" Piper asked confused. Evan nodded in acknowledgement.

"I pick them out and save them for last."

"Uh…alright," Piper said as she grabbed a package of M&Ms off the shelf. She continued perusing the shelf, quickly selecting a chocolate bar for each member of her family.

"So, what flavour does your mum like now?" Piper asked with a smirk, holding up a selection of lollipops.

"Cherry." Evan said picking it out her hand.

"Still? Ew." Piper laughed and Evan had to agree with her.

* * *

Piper slowly manoeuvred into the driveway, being carefully not to knock over the garbage bin that Meg had forgot to bring in. A small sigh escaped Evan, who was leaning against the window to Piper's right. Piper had seen part of the real Evan earlier, and it reaffirmed her faith that everything would work out between them all eventually. Evan had been open and happy at the store, but it seemed to Piper, every step closer to home they got, the more Evan seemed to pull back into herself and close up. Piper still wasn't exactly sure what Evan was afraid of, but whatever it was, it was weighing heavily on her mind. Every so often, Piper would get a glimpse of Prue out the corner of her eye in Evan. A flick of her hair or a sentence worded just right would send Piper flying into the past. But then again, to look into Evan's face was to look into Paige's. Piper laughed to herself, in pure astonishment that she could be doing this to Evan, comparing her to two people who she's not. Piper reminded herself that she had lived her whole life in her sisters' shadows, why should she make Evan live in two shadows that she could never fill? But if Piper was really willing to be honest with herself, she'd done it to Melinda and Megan. Made them live in each other's shadows. It wasn't fair and it wasn't right, but she couldn't change the past, could she? 

"Are…are we going in?" Evan said shyly, evidently watching Piper lost in thought.

"Oh yeah…right." Piper started to open the door and hit the button to unlock the trunk when she realized that something had to be said.

"Actually, Evan, hold up for a second." Evan looked at Piper confused. "I…we need to talk about your mum." Piper decided that a direct approach was the least painful and easiest. "She's having a really hard time with everything. There are things she doesn't want you to know, and I respect that, but I personally think you should know. I'm not going to tell you, but I need you to understand that you need to be strong for her right now," Evan looked at Piper completely lost. Piper was fully aware of her ramblings, but knew it was more important to concentrate on finding the right words to say.

"She really needs your support right now. I know it's not easy and I know that you need support too, but she really does love you, and she really does need you. You need each other." Evan sat there emotionless. Piper sighed and passed her a bag to carry in. Evan took it and walked in silence beside Piper all the way into the manor, dropping the bag carefully on the kitchen counter and making her way upstairs to Meg's room. Piper shook her head in defeat; Evan definitely inherited Halliwell stubbornness.

* * *

Leo orbed in for dinner, knowing that he was late and that nothing would save him from the wrath of his wife. Everyone turned to look at him, and politely said their hellos. Leo cast a cautious look at Piper who was playing with the food on her plate, before he sat down. Something was worrying her, he could tell. She looked up in Leo's concerned face and gave him a distant smile. 

"Dad." Meg's voice interrupted their look.

"Yes sweetie." Leo said turning his full attention to his baby. She was truly his pride and joy. After the hell named Melinda, Megan was the true angel in their lives. Where Mel was rebellious and disobeying, Meg was loyal and complacent. Leo used to promise himself that he'd never play favourites amongst his children, but things change, people change.

"What's a mastoiditis?" Meg asked and Leo glanced tentatively at Piper on instinct.

"Meg, no doctor talk at dinner." Piper said quickly as Meg rolled her eyes.

"It's not. I'm just asking him a question." Meg defended glaring at her mother. Leo sighed and receded into that fatherly place of serenity, silence.

"About medicine." Piper dropped her fork on her plate in frustration. Paige caught Leo's glaze, eyebrows raised and he shrugged in response. "Meg." Piper sighed and sent a pleading look at Meg, sitting with her arms crossed and vaguely familiar glare. A Melinda type glare.

"Fine. I wont ask." Meg said cracking. Piper and Leo shared a silent victorious smile knowing that they still had the power. More correctly, Piper had the power.

"How was your day?" Meg asked Leo with some impatience, which alerted him to the fact that he had gotten lost in his thoughts again.

"Good. I was working with a charge in Australia today. I think I may have actually got a sunburn." Leo said as he rubbed his glowing neck.

"Australia eh? See any kangaroos?" Paige quipped in. Leo smiled. It was nice to have Paige back. Her presence back at the manor seemed to make Piper a lot more relaxed, and who could blame her. Paige had them all worried for a while there.

"Nope. I saw a squirrel though."

"Speaking of people who have been to Australia, Paige you'll never guess who I ran into the other day." Piper said, reaching into her purse and pulling out a small piece of paper.

"Uhh.." Paige bit her lip, a sure sign she was deep in thought.

"Starts with a G…" Piper said raising an eyebrow.

"G…Grams?" Paige said shrugging.

"Close."

"God?"

Piper snorted and looked up to the ceiling. "I hope you heard that," Piper said as she shook her head and muttered to her sister. "Suck-up." Paige smirked.

"But no…Glen." Paige choked on her drink.

"Glen?" Piper nodded. "Wow. I haven't seen him, in what, 13 years? Wow." Paige said rambling to herself more than anyone else.

"He gave me his number to pass onto to you." Paige nodded as Piper passed the paper to her sister. Paige starred at it for a moment, then folded it up neatly and placed it in her pocket. An awkward silence spread throughout the table. One thing Leo learnt in living with women is that silence is never a good thing.

"How was school girls?" He asked quickly.

"Boring. My biology teacher doesn't know what she's talking about, and ugh, Henry's the newspaper editor this year. He's horrible at it. I still can't believe Mr. Jenkins let him be senior writer, and now editor? Please. And the math department is under funded so we have really crappy calculators…" Meg said while the rest of them nodded occasionally to fake paying attention. It wasn't so much that they didn't hear her; it was that they didn't hear what she was saying. Leo glanced at Evan sitting silently playing with her food. As her whitelighter, he felt responsible for her magically, but as her uncle, he felt responsible for her emotionally. He desperately needed to talk to her; but he was just so busy lately. Leo hardly had time for his own daughter.

"How about you Evan?" Paige asked uncharacteristically quietly, obviously in fear of Evan's reaction.

"Usual school," Evan muttered without making direct eye contact with anyone.

"School's just a pointless institution designed by the government to brainwash us into following their stupid system." Meg chimed in.

"A brainless institution you're staying at for the next year," Piper replied automatically without looking up. The words ended with a moment of silence, as Meg glowered at her mother, who was oblivious to Meg's reaction.

"I'm not Melinda." Meg stated as she stood up angrily and started to walk away to her room. Leo calmly watched, knowing that he no longer had control of either of them.

"I'm sorry Meg. It's…it's just a habit." Piper quietly said putting her head in her hands. Meg turned at looked her mother. She gave a small nod and continued upstairs.

"I know mum. I'm going to go study…thanks for dinner." Meg said as she disappeared from sight. Piper smiled weakly to the remaining table and Leo reached out for Piper's hand reassuringly.

"And I'm uhh..going for a walk." Evan said suddenly as she stood up and walked out into the hall. Leo couldn't help but notice the worried glance exchanged between Piper and Paige.

"Be care.." Paige winced as the manor door slammed shut. "ful." She sighed and lent back in her chair. A phone rang out causing them all to jump. It stopped just as Leo was about to reach it. He waited and held up his hand, counting to five on his fingers.

"One, two, three, four.."

"PAIGE!" came Meg's scream from upstairs.

"Five." He flashed a smile at Piper.

"Cute" she said as she tossed Paige the phone. Paige stood up and left the room carrying her plate into the kitchen.

"Do you think that's Mike?" Piper said worriedly glancing at Paige's back in the other room.

"I don't know. But even if it is, she's safe here." Piper looked sceptical and Leo pulled her into a hug. He soon felt the familiar tug and sighed in despair. They always choose the worst times. Piper looked into his eyes and he gave her an apologetic smile as he orbed out, leaving her alone at the table.

"Paige?" He repeated it over and over until she was able to comprehend what he was saying. She lost control. Racing heart. Sweaty palms. Dry throat. Paige lent on the table to try to steady herself. His voice taunted her. She tried to concentrate on the words in his voice.

"Y..es. Why are you phoning Mike?" Paige ran on autopilot.

"I was worried. Are you okay? Is Evan okay?" He played his part so well.

"We're fine."

"Good. What time are you coming home?" He seemed to slur the last few words. Paige glanced at the clock, 8:13, he'd been at the bar.

"We're not. This is it Mike, the end." Paige said quietly as she played with the wedding band around her finger.

"Don't be stupid Paige. I've heard this shit before, when are you coming home?" He said calmly.

"We're not. " The anger began to build. Paige willed herself to remain as calm as him, beat him at his own game, but it seemed impossible.

"Paige…I love you. Please come home." His voice broke with emotion and it broke her heart. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, she was still very much in love with him. The man who swept her off her feet and who made her life a fairytale, and ironically he was also the one who took it all away. She hit her head against the wall. She couldn't do this, not now, not ever.

"I can't Mike. You know I can't. If you love me, you'd let me do this" Paige didn't even try to hold back the tears.

"Do what?"

"Leave you Mike."

"Paige, please. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I'm just..it's hard. I lost my job and I felt like such a failure. I took it out on you. I don't deserve you, but I need you. I love you. I promise that I'll never happen again." Paige stood, silent and conflicted letting his words echo in her mind. She wanted to believe him and wanted to go home to his embrace. She wanted to have someone to sleep beside. She wanted Mike to wipe her tears away. But hadn't she heard this all before? "Paige? Sweetie? Please come home." Mike said and Paige could hear Barley barking in the background. "Barley misses you." She smiled through her tears.

"I…" She could hear Mike's rapid breathing, in complete synchrony with her own. The voices in her head were screaming at her to do it. "I can't Mike." Paige's finger hovered over the off button. She could hear Mike's voice pleading with her. She quickly pushed down on it, hoping that like a band-aid, the faster she pulled, the less pain she'd experience. As the noise of the dead phone, she sank down to the floor, still wanting to hear his voice. The phone clutched in her hand was just one of many reminders of how easily she could change everything around. Maybe if they tried harder it would work. They could reach out to Evan. They could all be a happy family again.

"Paige?" Paige flinched as Piper's arms reached around her and took the phone out her hand. Frantically, Paige snatched it back from her sister.

"Look at me." Piper said as she turned Paige's head so she looked Piper straight in the eye. "You are doing the right thing."

"Am I?"

"Yes." The confidence in her voice gave Paige strength. She stared down at the phone in her hand ringing once again, knowing exactly who it was. It vibrated for the third time and Paige took a deep breath. Piper squeezed her hand in support as Paige shakily pushed the on button, and then just as quickly hit the off button. A grateful teary smile was shared between them.

"Thank you."

* * *

Meg couldn't believe she'd lost control like that with her mother. She always promised herself that she would never go down that heavily trodden path of hostility and fighting. She never wanted to do what Mel did to her, not after everything that happened. It was all Mel's fault. Everything's always her fault. Meg's older sister, the one who was supposed to set an example for her, was in trouble every moment of her life. She got suspended 3 times in kindergarten, arrested 12 times excluding her juvenile record, drunk and stoned every day since age 13, dropped out of school at 17 and ran away from home, to an apartment across town which she shares with her corrupt boyfriend, or sex partner really. Mel ripped Meg's family apart. She ruined their mother. She killed their father. Everyone forgot about Meg. She raised herself, hiding out from the firing squad of her sister's untameable temper and her parents' fury. Being powerless to stop your mother's tears or your father's anger does something to a person, no matter how strong they think they are. Meg sat down at her computer wiping the tears away and attempted to find something to distract her. Looking at Medical schools would do. She smiled knowing that day-by-day, her dream of becoming a doctor was getting closer. One year. One year until everything she'd worked for fell into place and she could be happy.

* * *

The sun danced on the ceiling tracing out the familiar patterns. Paige had been awake for hours, just like every other day. She heard Piper and Leo get up. She heard Meg and Evan hurry around and then leave for school. She heard Leo leave to be with a charge. She heard Piper go back to bed. Paige knew all of this from lying here in Mel's room, her old room. She'd heard the sounds before. The squeak of the floorboard if you walked into the bathroom. The water pipes if you run the tap in the kitchen. It was the same as 13 years ago. Everything seemed the same as it did 13 years ago. Here she was lying in the same bed, in the same room, at the same time. She was going to an interview for the exact same job she had. Paige thought she'd accomplished so much. She was married. She was a mother. She had a career. Everything was good. Now, she was back where she started. Everything was moving backwards. When did it all fall apart? She'd convinced herself for years that she didn't need her sisters. She told herself over and over that they'd all moved on. Demons were rare. Husbands and children were a high priority. Paige moved out and went to LA with Mike. It seemed so simple at the time. Her sisters were holding her back. Her sisters were being overprotective. Her sisters didn't need her. She walked out on them. Right out the door dragging her 3-year-old daughter with her. Paige ruined her family. She'd ruined every family she'd been a part of. Her parents. Her sisters. Her husband. Her daughter. There was nothing left for her to lose. The alarm went off, signalling the need for Paige to pull herself together and get up. 

Paige entered the kitchen and gulped as Phoebe looked up at her. The various arguments they had over the years ran over and over in Paige's head. Her instinct was to run, but she reminded herself that she had to face Phoebe sometime. Paige grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down across from Phoebe. The cup burnt Paige's hand but she tried to ignore it. Paige wasn't sure how to start the conversation.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"I just thought I'd come by and see how things are doing. Cole's away on business and Noah's at the state regionals. Uh, Piper's upstairs sleeping. How are you feeling?" Paige smiled gently at Phoebe's nervous chatter. As least Paige wasn't the only nervous one.

"I little achy and sore, but thanks to Leo, okay now." Phoebe nodded and Paige grabbed a muffin from the tray in the centre of the table. She looked up to see Phoebe staring at her. They made eye contact and Paige felt her eyes begin to tear over. "Pheebs…I'm sorry."

"No sorries, okay?" Phoebe said firmly. Paige was taken back by her calm voice. For the first time in many years, Phoebe looked at Paige like someone she cared about, like someone she loved.

"But…"

"No way Paige. We all made mistakes, myself included. We can't change the past."

"Well technically…"

"You know what I mean." She said with a smile, a familiar happy smile to Paige.

"Yeah"

"Thanks." Paige stood up and hugged Phoebe from behind. Paige didn't want the moment to end, so she stood, hanging on to her big sister as long as she possibly could.

"I'm always here for you, no matter what." Phoebe said as she tipped her head back and looked up at Paige. Paige nodded. "I'm serious Paige, nothing can or did break our bond as sisters, okay?" Paige nodded again and returned to her seat. They sat in comfortable silence, drinking coffee and marvelling in the tranquility that came with forgiveness.

"Phoebe," Phoebe looked up at Paige's voice urging her to continue. "Do you and Noah…get along?"

"Yes, we do."

"How?" Paige asked without a moment's hesitation.

"I don't really know, we just do. I mean, he's always been an easy kid to raise. Looks after himself. Responsible. Happy. His swimming always kept him straight. I think, considering Cole and I, I just got lucky. Why, are you and Evan fighting?" Phoebe said with concern. Paige reminded herself of who Phoebe was and the fact that she wasn't going to hurt her. Keeping everything to herself in fear that it would be used against her was one of those habits she'd picked up through her marriage.

"No, not really. We just…we don't talk."

"She's always been shy and quiet." Phoebe interjected.

"I know, but it still doesn't seem right. I know nothing about her. I realize…I realize how much I neglected. I spent all my time at work, and all my emotions on Mike. I had nothing left for Evan. I ruined her life, and now she hates me for it."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Well she should." The emotions from years of pain and the loss of her daughter hit Paige. Phoebe watched helplessly as Paige crumbled into a fit of tears. She quickly rushed to Paige's side, rubbing her back as she used to do so many years ago. As Phoebe looked down at Paige, nose red, face blotchy and mascara running, she couldn't believe that she'd tried to forget and deny Paige's importance in her life. As Phoebe sat with Paige leaning on her shoulder, it dawned on her that this was their second chance, to say things that need to be said. Paige's departure sent Piper and Phoebe spinning into a relapse of Prue's death. To them, it was exactly like losing another sister. Piper pushed everything away, while Phoebe stood strong and ignored everything. It was not the yelling, fights or even the final ultimatum that Phoebe regretted the most, it was the mere fact that she did nothing to help Paige. Phoebe knew Paige's pain, but just sat back with her pride and told herself that Paige did it to herself, that she had to learn for herself. How stupid Phoebe had been. She made a vow to herself to be the sister she should be from now on. Phoebe saw movement in the corner of her eye and turned, completely expecting a demon. It was just habit, especially when she was visiting the manor. Instead, Phoebe was faced with a very concerned Piper who sat down beside Paige.

"What happened?"

"She just…she thinks Evan hates her." Piper nodded and sat silent, giving Phoebe a reassuring smile. She reached out to Paige, who was lost in her own world. Paige was oblivious to Piper's presence. Piper sighed and wrapped an arm around Phoebe's shoulders, making sure Paige was in-between them. Every tear broke Piper's heart. Piper had never seen Paige this upset, this out of control. Phoebe's eyes said everything, she felt guilty and responsible. Piper knew it was hopeless to try to reason with her, the only person who could convince her of that was Paige herself, and even then, it was very unlikely Phoebe would accept the fact that it was no one's fault. It had taken them nearly 20 minutes to calm Paige down into a lulled peacefulness. She sat calmly, leaning on Phoebe silently looking into space. Gradually Paige realized that she wasn't alone with Phoebe and gave Piper a weak smile. "Hey you." Piper said as she swept a piece of hair from Paige's eye.

"Hi." Paige said timidly. They all sat in silence, words had no meaning at the moment; no words could do justice to what any of them were feeling.

"I'm going to look horrible for my interview." Paige said quietly a few moments later with a small laugh. "Oh! Oh! Oh! My interview!" Paige leaped up and ran out the door, leaving Phoebe and Piper stunned on the floor, tangled with each other. Phoebe pulled herself off the floor and laughed.

"Still the same old Paige." She said as she offered out her hand.

* * *

3 weeks later 

Evan hated school. She was more than tempted to ditch the entire afternoon and just roam, like she used to do back home. She mentally reminded herself of the imminent phone call from the school that would precede such an action. Even if no one was home now, chances are someone would come home before her, unlike the 5 hours she used to have after school alone at home. Evan just couldn't risk it. She decided losing herself in music for the entire lunch would have to suffice. She watched Meg laugh and talk with her newspaper friends across the hall and debated on moving. Evan wasn't in a mood to be disturbed. As much as she loved her cousin, all Meg did was give Evan pity and sympathizing looks. It was pretty apparent that they were both two very different people, and that Meg didn't need Evan in her life. Evan decided to stay put, as Meg seemed oblivious to her presence. Evan turned up the volume and closed her eyes to block out the looks and comments from her so-called peers.

Evan was never much of an extravert, but she had her fair share of friends at her last school. God how she missed them. As much as Evan tried to deny it, it hurt when everyone here ignored her. It didn't matter anyway, because all Evan's thoughts disappeared as the music started it's familiar beat.

Meg watched Evan close her eyes and retreat into her own world like she always did. Meg wished she'd just try to make some friends. Meg was finding it mighty difficult to get through to her. Meg snapped back to her side of the hall as Jenny waved her hand in front of Meg's face.

"Uh, sorry Jen. What were you saying?" Meg tried to concentrate on Jen's most recent crush sighting but the picture of Evan sitting by herself replayed over in Meg's mind. Meg nodded politely in what she guessed was an appropriate time to do so, but Jenny noticed Meg's blank expression.

"Meg? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I just, I have do something. I'll be back." Meg said as she stood and cautiously walked towards her cousin. Meg could hear the bass booming from Evan's headphone and wondered if Evan was deaf. Meg cautiously reached out and touched her shoulder. Evan jumped in surprise. Grudgingly, she took off her headphones and stared at Meg expectantly.

"I wondered if you want to join my friends and me." Meg said pointing over at everyone. Evan hugged her knees tightly.

"No thanks. I mean, thank you…but I think I'd rather be over here."

"Oh, okay." Meg watched everyone walking by. She recognized a few faces and sent a couple of friendly smiles. Meg turned back to look at Evan, "could I join you?"

"Sure." Evan moved her backpack over and Meg sat down, pulling out an identical packed lunch as the one Evan held in her hand. Meg smiled as they toasted apple juice boxes.

* * *

van walked her usual route home from school. Up the hill. Over the bridge. Through the streets. It was pretty effortless but for Evan, it was a welcome relief to an entire day trapped in school. Like always, Evan filmed random things she came across. Today, she was on a quest to follow a bird in flight. She'd followed it around the park a few streets back and was currently mapping it's progress in the sky. Evan marvelled in its freedom. As it flew out of sight, Evan put her camera away and searched her bag for that one cigarette that she'd been craving for the last week. Evan figured she'd gone long enough, she only had one anyway. No harm done. Evan found it and pulled out her lighter. The familiar tranquility washed over her as she took in the first drag. As Evan reached up for her second puff, a car horn startled her and she dropped the burning cigarette. "Shit." Evan swore loudly as she turned to look at the car. 

"Hey hot stuff, need a ride?" Paige sat behind the wheel. Evan's jaw dropped in shock as she looked down at the burning cigarette beside her shoe. Evan glanced up at Paige apprehensively and she looked back at Evan impatiently. Paige didn't see it. Evan breathed a sigh of relief as she inconspicuously stepped on it and walked over to the car.

"How was school?" Paige asked as Evan climbed into the car beside her.

"Great." Evan said emotionlessly. Paige sighed and looked over at Evan. Evan looked as miserable as Paige felt.

"How'd you like to go home?" Paige asked as Evan looked over at her in annoyance.

"That's where I thought we were going."

"No, home home. Go see dad?" Paige said trying to sort through the million thoughts that entered her mind. The warnings and the anger. All it took was one look at Evan's smiling face, for everything to disappear. Paige slammed on the brakes, checked her mirrors and swung into a U-turn.

"You pick the radio station." Paige said as she cranked the volume up, something she always told Evan not to do. Evan chose some hard rock station with all these weird songs on it. Paige laughed as she realized how uncool she'd truly become. Evan sang along as Paige ran her fingers through her hair; she could do this.

* * *

It felt exhilarating to be among the familiar houses, on the familiar street. For the first time in years, Evan truly felt happy and loved by Paige. They hadn't fought once and even managed small talk. The closer they got to home, the more visibly shaken Paige seemed. 

"Mum?" Evan said as she started to put everything back in her backpack. They were 3 streets away from home, beside Evan's school. Evan smiled to herself at the prospect of being back in her own school, with her own friends. Everything was going to be okay.

"Hmm?" Paige asked sucking on her last lollipop, from their candy-buying spree about an hour ago.

"It's going to be okay." Evan said as she tried to busy herself with the radio, to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.

"I know sweetie, I know." Paige said quietly as she patted Evan's leg then swung into the driveway. They were home. Mike's beat up Chevy was sitting on the driveway. The front door swung open and Barley came racing out the door, full force. Evan leapt out the car and was knocked backwards as Barley tackled her to the lawn. Evan giggled while Barley licked her nose.

"Barley!" came the voice as he pulled the excited dog off Evan and offered out his hand.

"Hey baby." Mike said as Evan ran into his outstretched arms. He had the familiar smelled of cologne, oil and exhaust. He had been working on the car.

"Hi daddy." Evan said as she pulled out his embrace and slowly backed off, letting her parents get a look at each other. Paige stood leaning on the hood of her car, twiddling with the car keys, while Mike stood stiffly on the lawn.

"Evan, why don't you go inside." Paige said sternly. Evan grabbed her bag from the car and dragged Barley into the house. She slowly crept into the living room and peaked through the window, just as she had done so many times before. Paige saw the curtains move out the corner of her eye and sighed. Paige turned her attention back to Mike.

"Evan's watching, so don't…just don't." Mike nodded in compliance. He looked so good standing there. He was wearing the shirt she'd bought him last year, the one he said look too formal. Paige smiled to herself as she realized he didn't know how to do laundry. It took all her energy and strength to hold back from running to him.

"I thought you weren't coming back." Mike said simply as he walked over to the car. Paige could smell his cologne.

"I changed my mind"

"Oh." Mike looked up at Paige with his blue eyes. "Well, I'm glad."

"Just don't make me regret it, okay?" He nodded silently. Things looked hopeful so far. Mike held out his hand and looked at Paige pleadingly. Timidly, she grabbed it and allowed herself to be pulled into the house.

"Since when do you make coffee?" Paige asked in surprise when Mike passed her the steaming cup.

"I don't really…I figured I might as well try." Paige took a sip and cringed, it was disgusting. "Is it okay?" Mike asked innocently. Paige was wary and unsure of what to say. She didn't want him exploding on her, but if they were ever to work things out, honesty would have to come out sooner or later.

"It's uh..just hot" Paige said as she placed it down on the rickety table. She automatically ran her hand over the bump on the side from when Evan hit her head as a toddler. Paige paused, then slowly looked up into his eyes. She was surprised as they stared back at her. They only stared. Nothing within her cried out in fear. Nothing in her cried out in joy.

"So you got Leo to heal you?" Mike said as he looked up at her left eye, and Paige squirmed.

"Yes, I did" She tried to calm her shaking hand. Old habits die-hard. Or was it instinct?

""Why?" Mike said curtly. Paige knew that tone. Paige knew that look. All she could do was close her eyes and breathe.

"Because I had to Mike. It hurt like hell, and quite frankly, it looked like hell."

"So that gives you a reason to use magic? To go against all I have told you? All we discussed?" Mike stood up from the table and lent across the sink, his back facing Paige. He was trying not to lose control.

"All you discussed. You know what Mike, I did have a damn good reason." Paige paused and walked over to him despite her fear of being close to his body, and his fist. The smell of his cologne made her stomach twist as she leant towards him and whispered into his ear. "Our daughter. Did you want her to see me? To start asking questions?" Mike stood rigid and angry, a stance Paige knew all too well.

"So what now? Are your sisters going to come here and condemn me for accidentally hitting you? Perhaps they'll cast a spell on me?"

"Would you keep it down, Evan is somewhere around here. And for your information, no, they won't come, because they don't know I came back here. They wouldn't let me come back here. Probably because they know things I just can't seem to remember. Mike, it was no accident. It was no accident the first time, so why would it be an accident the fourth time?"

"Dammit Paige! It was an accident. I said I was sorry didn't I?" Mike spun around and grabbed onto Paige's wrists, hard. The tears slipped effortlessly down her face. "Didn't I?" He increased the pressure on her wrists and Paige looked deep into Mike's eyes. Suddenly, he bent down and forcefully kissed her. Paige neither discouraged, nor invited his tongue exploring her mouth. He pulled back and wiped a tear from Paige's cheek with his thumb. "I'm sorry. I love you." Mike's voice cracked with emotion and he was once the person Paige was in love with, the person she had married. She stood without emotion, or perhaps, it was the combination of more emotions than she could ever process. Love. Trust. Respect. Fear. Anger. Hurt. They all blurred into nothing. Paige had always promised herself that she would never be a victim of domestic violence. She was a social worker; she worked with abused victims all the time. She knew the signs. She knew the destructive patterns. She knew the excuses and heard the stories. And yet, it all felt so different when it happened to her. She believed him when he said never again. She felt that she was the one responsible. She felt that she couldn't stand to leave him behind. She wished that he could change, even if she knew he couldn't. Their starring contest was interrupted when Evan's footsteps echoed through the house, as she clomped down the stairs, and entered the kitchen.

"Do we have any batteries?" Evan said as she fiddled with her cd player.

"Try my bedside table. Second drawer down." Mike said as Paige wiped her tears, spinning around and pretending to be busy washing the dishes. Evan nodded and took off up the stairs again. Paige gave a sigh of relief and turned back to Mike.

"I can't find any!" Evan yell greeted them from upstairs, just as Mike opened his mouth. Mike gave a slight smile and started to walk up the stairs. Paige could hear each footstep echo throughout the walls of her house. Then, the shuffle of shoes and muffled voices. The creak of their bedroom door, creaked so many times before in moments of passion, by a 4 year old Evan with nightmares, by Barley coming for her early morning jump on the bed. The fine hairs on Paige's neck picked up as she listened to Evan's and Mike's raised voices. Paige's lip throbbed from her incessant nervous biting as the fight escalated, and then went silent. Fear consumed her as motherly instinct drove her to raced up the stairs and burst into the bedroom.

"Evan, how could you have lost the rechargeable batteries?" Mike yelled as Evan looked off into space, obviously trying to make him mad. He looked harmless, standing beside her, his fatherly instinct present. But something distorted in him as Evan continued to ignore his threatening stare. Mike's demeanour instantly changed and he stood poised and ready. "Now you listen to me young lady…" The movement of his body towards Evan made Paige move, but it was the look in his eye, the familiar look in his eye that gave Paige the courage to grab him and push him away from Evan. They both looked up at Paige, startled.

"What are you doing?" Mike said as he tore himself from Paige's grip.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Paige said angrily as she stood protectively in front of Evan, who was obviously confused.

"Wait…you thought that I was…Paige, you know I'd never…" Mike said stuttering as moved towards Paige. She stepped back automatically. Evan remained where she stood, silent and observant. Paige turned towards Evan's blank face, relieved to see it perplexed perhaps, but definitely unaware of what had almost happened.

"Evan go grab whatever you want to bring. We're going back to Piper's." Paige said as she tried to ignore the pain that tore through Evan's eyes.

"But..."

"No. Please do as I say. Please Evan?" Paige pleaded with Evan. Evan looked behind Paige's shoulder at Mike, tears running down her face. Paige cursed Mike for making her do this. Evan stare turned bold, as she wiped the tears and glared at Paige.

"No, I want to stay here, with dad."

"I'm sorry Ev, but you can't"

"Why the hell not? Just because you need company, I have to be dragged all over? Go live with Piper, see if I care! I want to be here. With my friends. With my dog. With my father." Evan's words tore at Paige's insides. For a split second Paige contemplated leaving her here. Mike had always promised he would never touch Evan. Paige really didn't believe that he would hurt Evan, but then again, Paige really didn't believe that he would do the things he did to her. The decision was made long before Paige set foot in this house. Evan knew it, Mike knew it and Paige knew it, they all just didn't want to believe it.

"No. It's as simple as that. If you want to bring anything else, then you better grab it now because we are leaving." Paige's words were jumbled and shaky. She willed herself to fight the tears. Paige had to be strong. She was the parent, now, Evan's only parent. Evan didn't deserve any of this, Evan didn't deserve Paige. Evan turned away and walked into her room without a word. Paige took a deep breath and faced her worst nightmare.

"She can stay here if she wants. I have custody rights too, I will fight for her." Mike said as he glared at Paige. Paige's eyes hovered on the heavy metal lamp in the corner that she could orb if she needed to.

"No, she can't Mike. You're dangerous. And you wouldn't dare to try for custody. Not with everything that's happened."

"I'm not fucking dangerous! I would never hit my own daughter!"

"But you'd hit your own wife?" Mike's face crumbled and he spun so his back faced Paige. Paige sighed and rubbed her temples.

"I'm…I'm sorry. You're a great father, and she will never stop loving you. But, she can't be around you like this. You need help, and until you get that help and change your life, she's not going to be anywhere near you. And neither am I. Goodbye Mike." Paige took once last glance at the defeated man, sitting on the bed weeping, before she left the room for the very last time.

* * *

Evan looked around her messy room through the viewfinder on the video camera. "November 6. My life is over. This room is the past, no place is my future." The words seemed empty and pointless to Evan. Like a script she was being forced to say. Words could not describe her emotions. Words could not do this room, a representation of all she had, justice. It was the sound of her ticking clock that woke her up for school each and every morning. The hum of the bathroom light from down the hall that needed to be on even now just to make sure there were no monsters under her bed. The creaking of the floorboards as her parents fought in the next room. The muffled voices of the fight. The noises of Evan's lost childhood that were recorded on the film. She shut it off the video camera in frustration and stood up. Her trusty old duffel bag was packed with her clothes and books. Evan grabbed the picture of her parents, smiling happily on their wedding day and threw it on top of her pile. The zip was done. There it was, a bag of everything she needed. Of everything she had accomplished and of everything she'd lost. Evan walked out her room, down the hall and into her parents' room in light of the new quiet that filled the old house. Mike sat staring at the wall, silent and contemplative. Evan slowly walked towards him and sat down beside him. The hairs of Evan's neck prickled, her senses were in overdrive. He looked over at Evan in surprise as her weight cause the bed to move. The tears the trickled down Mike's face broke Evan's heart and she felt his arms wrap around her. 

"Hey Fruity Tutty." Mike whispered as Evan let her tears dampen his shirt.

"Hey Tutty Fruity." Evan said as she recited their ritual. Mike stroked Evan's hair and his embrace seemed to make the world go away. Evan closed her eyes, and tried to imprint the feelings and the smells in her mind, so that whenever she missed him she could come back to this very moment.

"You be good for your mum now." Mike said as he pulled back and made Evan stand up. "No crying baby, okay? This is not goodbye. I'll see you soon enough. You phone me when you get there, you hear me?" Evan tried to hug him once again., but he gently pushed her away. "Just go. Just go Baby." Evan nodded and walked silently out the room, down the stairs, and out the door to the car dragging her bag behind her. Paige was stuffing her own bag into the trunk and gave Evan a half-hearted smile. Evan looked straight past her and stepped into the car. Paige sat down and started the engine. The loud rock music from before started up and Paige jumped then quickly turned it down. It was jaded reminder of those few moments of pure bliss when everything was right in Evan's life. Things were back to normal, back to shitty once again. Evan pressed her head up against the cool glass and let it rattle around as they pulled out the driveway and onto the smooth road.

Just as Evan settled the music on to her ears, in an attempt to escape the feelings that bombarded her, Paige jerked the car to a stop and jumped out. Evan sat, unmoving and unsure of what to do or expect. Paige's strides across the familiar lawn reminded Evan of a movie, where the girl runs up to meet with her prince in the fairytale ending. Evan felt the sensation of hope swell within her. She wiped a tear away that had trickled down her cheek without her recollection. Paige disappeared inside the house. The ifs overcome Evan. What if mum was going to make up with dad? What if mum only forgot her purse? What if mum was getting the gun out the basement and planned to kill him? What if. Evan tried to push everything away because if she was anything, she was practical. No use in thinking of something that may not ever exist. Evan fiddled with the radio in an attempt to distract herself. The hum of the running car, the emptiness of the seat beside her, the numb feeling of emotional exhaustion and the familiar guitar of a old Goo Goo Dolls song, left Evan sitting, lost in another world, a world of memories. Memories of her first kiss. Memories of summer slumber parties. Of being young and being free. That was before everything went bad. Sure, her parents still fought, but they still pretended that they didn't. Evan still pretended that they didn't. Evan was still getting good grades. She hadn't even touched alcohol. Her friends were still friends, who weren't obsessed with stature and popularity. Evan didn't feel different. She didn't smoke. Bad move. The simple notion of thinking of smoking brought out a massive craving. What Evan wouldn't do for a smoke right now. No, she promised herself that she wouldn't go down that road again. She'd been there before. The very beginning of the destructive lifestyle. Progressing to being at parties every night. Drinking. Drugs. Too close to having sex for Evan's liking. 14 was not a good age for her. Mike and Paige were never home, never there to notice the blood shot eyes, or the smoke on Evan's clothes. Then there were the friends who gave Evan up the second she pulled away from them, friends who let Evan fall. The teachers who just shuck their heads at "that" kid, the one who starts trouble and will never amount to anything. Evan could see how exactly she became who she was today. How she learned not to trust anyone, or anything, because no matter what she did, it all fell apart in the end. It didn't matter how hard she tried, no one would ever be there to catch her, or even watch her as she went down.

Evan's thoughts were interrupted as the door swung open and Barley was ushered into the car. The large dog leaped over the seat and smothered Evan in kisses. Paige pushed Barley into her customary back seat, and threw her bowl, leash and blanket into the back beside her. Paige restarted the car, turned off the radio and locked the doors. They were back on the road, on their silent journey.

* * *

Piper checked her watch for the 8th time in the last hour and resisted the temptation to yell for Leo. Where was Paige? She said she'd be home at 3. It was now 5. 

"Piper, stop worrying. She's fine. She's probably out shopping and forgot to turn her phone on." Phoebe said with a wave of her hand before she turned back to reading the newspaper, coffee cup in hand. She was probably right, but Piper still had that nagging feeling that something was wrong. The same nagging feeling Piper had when Paige left all those years ago. And the same nagging feeling that Piper got every time she thought of Melinda. She sat down across from Phoebe and sighed.

"Tough day?" Phoebe questioned.

"No. Well, isn't it always? I don't know Phoebe. There's Paige, and then Evan with her determined silence and detachment from everything. And now Meg, who seems to disagree with everything I say lately. I just can't lose her, she's my baby, you know?"

"You won't honey, she loves you too much. You're her hero. I've never seen such a smart and focused kid in my life, a kid so much like her mother. She is just going through that teenage thing." After seeing the doubt in Piper's eyes, Phoebe grabbed her hand. "She's not like Melinda. This is just recent right? Well, Melinda has been in trouble her entire life. Megan's going places Pipe. Places you or her can't even dream of. She'll be fine."

"Thanks Pheebs." They sat in comfortable silence as Phoebe went back to reading her paper. Piper sipped on her tea, listening to the old clock ticking. Phoebe put the newspaper down and looked up at Piper, sitting in a trace. Truthfully, Phoebe too was a bit worried about Paige. Who wouldn't be with all that's happened to her? Phoebe did however know out of years of experience know that a calm Piper, is a sane Piper. There was no point in getting upset anyway; Paige would be home when she was home. Leo was away at a conference all day, and they weren't to call him, unless of a dire emergency. It was just the way it had to be. Piper jumped up and Phoebe turned around expectantly as Meg came trudging through the backdoor.

"What? Why are you both starring at me funny?" Meg said as she threw her backpack onto the table.

"Nothing. We're just waiting on Paige coming home. Is Evan with you? Didn't you say you were going to ask her to come with you to a newspaper meeting?" Piper said as she tried to compose herself.

"Uh no, I didn't get around to it. I don't think she'd want to anyway. Why? What's wrong?" Meg said as she grabbed a Coke from the fridge.

"Nothing Hun. We're just wondering where they are, that's all." Piper said as she grabbed the can out Meg's hand and put a bottle of water in its place. Phoebe laughed and tried to picture Noah's reaction if she ever tried that on him. Noah wouldn't be allowed to drink Coke anyway; he was on a fancy athlete diet. It was a pain in the ass for Phoebe to cook for him.

"Thanks. Mum, I have to work tomorrow. That okay?" Meg said as she grabbed a handful of cookies, artfully avoiding Piper's glare, and outstretched hand.

"Yes. You'll have to take the bus home though "

"I always do." Meg said curtly. Phoebe shared a look with Piper, and then tried to think of something to break the tension.

"So Meg, which department do you work in now?"

"Peds."

"Paediatrics?"

"Yeah."

"Oh." Luckily, Phoebe had to continue the conversation no further as a dog suddenly rushed into the kitchen.

"Uhh…Piper, did you get a dog?" Phoebe said as it wagged it's tail at her, knocking over the coffee cup on the table.

"No." Piper said calmly. Phoebe and Meg looked at her strangely. Piper seemed oblivious to the wild dog running circuits around her spotlessly clean and pristine kitchen. Piper looked over at the general vicinity the dog was occupying, did a complete double take and then looked up at Phoebe wide-eyed. "DOG?" Piper bolted upright and started chasing after it. Phoebe looked over at Meg, who just shrugged in confusion. Piper managed to grab the excited dog by the collar and was presently trying to stop it licking her face, just as Paige came running into the kitchen

"Stupid leash broke. I tried to catch her, but she was too fast." Paige walked over to the dog and took her away from Piper. Piper stood up open mouthed. Phoebe couldn't tell if she was mad, or relieved, or what. Apparently Paige couldn't decide either as she stood awkwardly trying to hold the squirming dog, looking up at Piper nervously. "I…I can explain everything."

"Well, you better. Firstly, where were you? Phoebe and I have been worried sick. Secondly, why is there a DOG in my kitchen?" Piper said, hands flailing.

"Well, actually…" Paige's voice wavered as Phoebe saw her self-consciously tug at her sleeve and gulp. Something wasn't right. Phoebe walked over to her, bravely ignoring Piper's anger, and stood protectively in front of her.

"What…what happened?"

Piper was quick to move close and look from Phoebe to Paige, and back. "Something happened! What happened Paige?"

"Nothing happened. Well, nothing bad. Don't be mad, please. I don't know what I was thinking, I was just, Evan was there, and she was so sad, and I missed him." Anger consumed Phoebe; she knew what was coming next.

"Tell me you didn't." Phoebe said, and before she could even finish her sentence, Paige nodded.

"What? Why? How?" Phoebe stuttered in anger.

"I picked Ev up after school, and I don't know, it just seemed right. I'm sorry." Paige said pleadingly. Just as suddenly as it came, the anger was gone. Paige had done it, and it couldn't be taken back. Phoebe reminded herself of her pact and tried to forget about grudges, or her own pride.

"Are you okay?" Piper finally said breaking her shocked silence, looking Paige up and down.

"Yeah. We didn't stay long." Piper and Phoebe both nodded, coaxing her to continue. "I wanted to stay, I really did. I thought that maybe we could work it out. But I couldn't leave her alone with him, not after…" Paige trailed off as she noticed Meg sitting silently at the table for the first time. Phoebe gulped, and shared a look with Piper that meant that they had both forgotten about the silent teen.

"Umm, do you guys want me to go talk to Evan or something?" Meg said awkwardly as she stood up under their gazes.

"You can try, but I don't think she'll listen. Don't get your hopes up, okay?" Paige said quietly. "She ran upstairs when we got back." Paige added as Meg nodded and took off up the stairs. Piper turned back to Paige. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes. Nothing hurt but my heart."

* * *

Meg trudged up the stairs, one by one, step by step. At the top, her cousin was hurting, emotionally cold and more than likely to push her away yet again. At the bottom, her mum and aunt, so obviously trying to hide the truth that Meg already knew. Meg hated that feeling, that feeling of protection. The feeling that she was just too young and too irresponsible to deal with "adult" matters. The door to the room she now shared with her cousin was left wide open. Meg paused outside the door and debated whether she really wanted try to talk to Evan. Meg knew it was pointless, but she muttered a small "carpe diem", and proceeded into the room anyway. It was empty. For a split second Meg wondered if Evan was hiding from her, but the very few whitelighter-sensing powers in Meg knew that the room really was empty. Meg moved on to check the other two bedrooms, bathrooms and attic. All empty. She slowly walked down the stairs, wondering what she should do exactly. Meg had flashbacks of Melinda bribing Meg into lying for her as she climbed out the window for one of her many nights of wild fun. Leo and Piper always figured it out though, and after the 3rd time Meg realized that all that lying did was get her into more trouble. The familiar voices of Meg's aunts talking, even in the dismal situation brought a small smile on her face. It was obvious Piper was happy to have Paige back. It hurt a little to know that Piper couldn't find happiness with Meg, no matter how much Meg tried. Piper never really talked about what happened, nobody did. Noah, Melinda and Meg had to sneak around for days to find out the truth about why Evan left so suddenly from their lives. Meg tried not to, but it was nearly impossible not to think of what things might have been like had Evan had the chance to grow up with them. They way they all might have been. Piper wouldn't be so closed minded or so distraught over Melinda leaving. Paige would certainly be happier. Evan wouldn't be so cold, so detached. And maybe Meg wouldn't feel like such an outsider to her own damn family. She just wanted to feel like a part of something, of anything. 

"No luck?" Paige's voice jerked Meg back to attention. She had wandered into the kitchen by instinct.

"Uhh…well, actually…"

"Megan?" Piper used "the look". The look that forced truth out of Meg, no matter if Meg willed it or not. It was a face of worry, mixed with anger, with a sprinkle of complete and total "I already know what you did, so fess up or reap the punishment" mixed in.

"She's not here." Meg said while she tried to gauge their reactions.

Piper's was a simple nervous glace, Paige's was repeated swearing and Phoebe sat there in confusion.

"Uhh…guys, quick question, why are we panicking?" Phoebe asked as she looked from one sister to the other.

"Because she might try to go back home. Er…well, to Mike's." Paige said as attempted to phone Evan's cellphone. A quiet ring could be heard and Paige followed it. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." Paige said as she realized Evan left her cellphone in her backpack, lying on the couch in the living room.

"Megan, are you sure she's gone?" Meg nodded.

"Okay. LEO!" Piper paused as she looked around the kitchen. "LEO! I'm not even close to kidding this time!" Meg winced at her mum's tone and choice of words. That was one phase Meg would never forget. She heard it every time Melinda came home. Every time Melinda made Piper cry. Made Leo, their pacifist father yell. Made Meg be forgotten. Leo orbed in with a slightly pissed off look on his face, just like Meg and Piper expected, just like it was every time with Mel. Meg instinctively stepped back from the adults and made her way out the kitchen. To them, she was just someone who had to be censored and a person who was only in the way.

Paige watched as Leo closed his eyes and started to try to sense Evan. Paige's heart was going a mile a minute. A complete and total adrenaline rush of maternal protectiveness smothered any guilt or anger she might of had. Regret over not practicing her powers over the years hit Paige and she made a solemn promise to herself to ask Leo for some training, first chance she got.

"She's fine. A little upset, but fine. She's at the park, want me to go get her?" Leo said as he looked at Paige, then to Piper.

"No. Are you sure she's okay?" Paige asked, resisting the urge to tell him to go get Evan right now. To get him to bring Evan so Paige could hug her to make sure she was actually okay. Paige reminded herself that Evan just needed time to herself, time to cool off.

"I'm positive." Leo said as he moved towards Piper. He wrapped her arms around her, and he gave her a kiss.

"Okay. Then let her be, she'll come home when's ready…I hope." Paige said without confidence. Phoebe grabbed Paige's hand and squeezed it in support.

"I'll keep on eye on her, make sure she doesn't go anywhere." Leo's voice drifted over the kitchen as he orbed out.

* * *

There's had always been something mystical to Evan about a swing. The motion of moving forwards and up, then being pulled backwards and down just as quickly. Free falling one instant, then propulsion in the next. The swing has always been her favourite thing at playgrounds. Feet dragging, rocking from side to side, or perhaps spinning round and round in a circle until you feel sick. It makes me feel like a kid again. It makes Evan feel happy again. The cool wind sent shivers up her spine and Evan wished that she had grabbed a jacket when she ran out the manor. It was late, that much she could tell even without looking at her watch. Evan wanted to tell everyone that she was fine, but she doubted that they would even notice that she was missing. Even if Evan did phone, they would only lecture, and try to make her talk. 

The crunch of footsteps on leaves behind Evan, forced her to turn around and face a man, enveloped in the shadows of the trees. His head jerked up at Evan's movement and their eyes met in a bone-chilling stare. He started to move towards her. Demon? Warlock? It was impossible to tell. He never quickened nor slowed his pace, taking each step carefully until he finally reached within foot of Evan. He was quite tall, younger than she had previously assumed and his appearance was certainly daunting, but yet, she didn't fear him. Perhaps it was the anger, and the loss of will to live that propelled her to stand up from her swing, take a step towards him and prepare herself to fight. Evan had never fought evil by herself; it was always Paige who took care of them. She was at a complete loss as to what she supposed to do. The silence between them was intense. Almost as intense as his stunning green eyes.

"Well?" Evan said finally finding her voice.

"Well what?"

"Are you going to kill me?"

"No…I wasn't planning on it." He stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet in the dirt.

"Oh. Could you?"

"Uhh…no."

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Yes, okay."

"Okay." He moved towards the swing beside Evan and sat down. She soon followed suit on her own swing. He had a somewhat comforting aura about him. "What brings a kid like you out here on a night like this?" He asked, as he looked her up and down.

"Boredom."

"That doesn't explain the tear marks."

"Haven't you ever heard the expression bored to tears?" Evan said challenging him. She didn't know why, but she liked the verbal sparring match.

"Touchy."

"That's me." They sat in silence until he started shuffling around in his pockets. Evan looked at him, wondering if perhaps he would pull out a gun on her. She sat still, unmoving, not caring one way or another. After an ample amount of rustling, he pulled a joint and a shiny metallic lighter out, much to Evan's delight.

"Want some?" Evan nodded even although the lessons of her past were screaming inside her head. It was just one night, after one hell of a day. One time, one hit. Nothing to worry about. Evan had been craving a smoke all day, and what was a better smoke then this? He lit it up and carefully passed it to her. The familiar smell infiltrated Evan's nostrils and the smoke filled her lungs. It felt good and it felt right.

"So…what's your name?"

"London."

"Nice to meet you London. I'm Evan. Emily. You there. Whatever you want to call me."

"How about I stick with Evan?"

"Sounds great. Well London, what's a guy like you doing at a place like this, with a kid like me?"

"Nowhere better to go." They once again sat in silence, passing the spliff back and forth until he took the one final drag, threw it into the dirt and ground it in with his combat boot. They both simultaneously started to swing, no words exchanged. Evan smiled and felt the wind that was previously cold and harsh, become warm and comforting as it blew through her hair. The combination of swinging, the brilliant stars, mind numbing drugs and the puzzling guy sitting beside her set Evan free. Eventually, the nagging feeling that she needed to go home was stronger than London's sparkling eyes willing her to stay. Evan brought herself back down to the ground, dragging her shoes in the dirt.

"I should really being going…" London looked over at Evan and nodded solemnly. Evan's pervious mistrust was now filled with wonder. "Well…I guess I'll see you around then." Evan said as she stood slowly.

"Probably not." He muttered still swinging.

"Uh okay." She pulled her sweatshirt hood up and started to walk along the dimly lit path.

Just as I reached the rusty gate he called out to me. "Hey kid?"

"Hmm?"

"Have a good life" Evan nodded silently and walked away into the forest without looking back.

* * *

Letterman. MadTV reruns. Simpsons. Paige had officially run out of TV shows to distract herself with. Piper and Meg's occasional laughter over some movie they were watching pierced the silence of her room, was unintentional reminder that Paige's own daughter was out there, alone and hurt because of her. She rolled over on the bed and glanced out the window, willing Evan to come home. 11:03. Was Paige's worry actually justified now? Leo hadn't come back so everything had to be okay, Evan was still safe. Paige sighed and decided to give Evan 27 more minutes, then, she was climbing into her car and driving around till she found Evan. Paige didn't need to bother Leo, she could do it herself. Until then, the little piece of paper sat deep within her drawer. It looked at Paige, challenging her. Paige knew what she wanted to do, but she couldn't. Too many things were said. Too much time had passed. Everything had changed. But was the change good or bad? Or maybe change isn't good or bad at all, it just exists. Before Paige could really think about what she was doing, she had already dialled the number. 

"Yeah?" A groggy voice said. Paige smiled, he still sounded exactly the same.

"Always the gentlemen Glen"

A moment pause, then, "Paige?"

"Still got a memory I see." Paige hated herself for her quips, but it was her natural instinct in nerve-racking situations.

"Wow. Just wow. How are you doing?"

"I'm good" The lie slipped so easily out Paige's mouth that even she was almost convinced.

"Good." Glen said quickly.

"How's Jessica? Micheal? And the baby?"

"They're both doing great. Michael's a little troublemaker, following in his daddy's footsteps…and James is almost 4 now."

"Wow, how time flies."

"Yeah…" An awkward silence met them. This was such a bad idea. Paige ran her tongue along the roof of her mouth. Why was she so stupid?

"What's…what's wrong?" Glen voice wavered on the phone, Paige knew he was nervous. This was the voice he used when he was 12 and Paige made him ask his crush out. This was the voice he used when he told his dad that they completely totalled his car. This was the voice he used when he tried to warn Paige about Mike.

"Nothing's wrong," Paige said with fully expecting Glen to drop the subject, and yet, he hesitated.

"I know you better than that." Paige sighed. She could hear him breathing heavily into the phone. God, how she missed him.

"You caught me. You're still the same old amazing Glen, you know that?"

"And you're still the same old amazing Paige"

"I wish…"

"And that means…"

"Nothing really, I'm just having a bad day. Actually, a bad 13 years."

"Want to talk about it?"

"Thank-you"

"For what?"

"For being you."

* * *

"Hey Pheebs, are you sure that Cole doesn't mind? It's just I really don't want to leave Evan alone tonight. I hope she isn't any trouble. Is this the new Revlon stuff?" Paige asked as she pulled Phoebe's lipstick out her bag and applied it. 

"Yes, I got it last weekend. He's fine with it; he was the one who suggested a sister's night out. And Evan's a good kid; Cole and Leo can handle it just fine. Noah's at swim practice anyway, so he'll like the company. Can I borrow this?" Paige rolled her eyes as Phoebe walked into the bathroom already wearing Paige's skirt.

"Yeah yeah. Noah's at practice a lot now. I mean, I know that he's been doing the once everyday thing for years, but isn't three times a day a bit much?"

"You'd think so. I personally don't like it, but he's in college now, and under a full scholarship. He makes his own decisions, and he's worked his entire life to get here, so I really can't say anything. His coach tells him that this year is the only chance he'll get to make the national team, so I guess he's putting everything he's got into it."

"I guess. It'd still be nice to see him."

"Well, you're going to see him play at the club tomorrow, right?" Paige nodded. "Then you'll get to see him then" Phoebe said as she wiped a smudge of mascara of Paige's face.

"I hope so. He got a girlfriend?" Phoebe nodded, then sighed.

"His girlfriend's a pretty nice girl, so far anyway. Truth be told, I'm still dealing with the dating issues."

"Dating issues?" Paige questioned, making a mocking face at Phoebe.

"Yes, dating issues. The fact that my little boy is all grown up and doing grown up things…" Paige pursed her lips and gave Phoebe an amused look.

"He is 20. You and I might have been wild, but even Piper wasn't close to hitting the 20 mark for virginity."

"Tell me about it." Phoebe sighed, then grabbed the hairbrush out of Paige's hand and started doing her own hair. Paige gave Phoebe a glare, and then went back to doing her makeup. "Evan got home safely last night I assume? I'm sorry I had to leave so suddenly, my new boss is such a bitch these days." Phoebe asked passing the brush back to Paige.

"Don't worry about. I heard her come home about 11:30." Paige said nonchalantly, trying not to show her sister how much of a wreck she really was.

"Did you talk to her?" Phoebe asked picking up on Paige's attitude. Paige sighed and sat down on the bed.

"I haven't got the chance yet, she's been avoiding me all day. I'm thinking about taking her out for a day around town tomorrow. I keep forgetting that she really doesn't know what San Francisco's like. She's only really come for a weekend every year for the family reunion thing. So, I guess I'll have the big talk with her then."

"I'm sure she'll love it." Phoebe said with a smile.

"Hey Phoebe, can I ask you a question?" Paige asked suddenly.

"Absolutely not."

"Very funny. Okay, what exactly happened between Piper and Melinda?" Phoebe stopped mid mascara stoke and turned to Paige, a rather serious look on her face.

"Long, complicated story." Paige's face fell in disappointment. "That I'll tell you" Phoebe sat down beside her sister. "Okay, well…you must have figured out that things were sort of edgy, especially these last few years."

"Well yes, but I just thought it was typical Melinda type behaviour and Piper overreacting." Paige said with a shrug.

"In a way that's all it was. Melinda…Melinda was wild. I'm not talking normal teenage wild either, she was completely out of control. Piper and Leo were at their end; they just couldn't deal with it. Failing school. Parties. Drinking. Guys." Paige gave Phoebe a look.

"I know I know, been there, done that, but that was just the beginning for her. More guys. Harder drugs. They even tried to put her in rehab, twice, but she just ran away the next day. Various arrests for assault, car theft and vandalism, lucky for her, Darryl was able to get most of the charges dropped. She used to disappear for days, even weeks without a word. Then, at 17, she dropped out of school and moved in with her 26-year-old boyfriend, and severed all communication with Piper and Leo."

"Wow." Paige was absolutely floored.

"Yeah, it was rough. Still is really. Piper and Mel starting talking again this past year. It's a start, but I think the whole thing still kills Piper. I mean, I don't think I'd be able to not know where Noah was for years at a time, or if he was okay. I just, I can't even imagine…" Phoebe said trying to hold back the tears.

"I can't either…that's just so horrible. It does explain a lot though." Paige said deep in thought.

"Like what honey?"

"Just her general attitude. How her and Meg act. And how she seems to know exactly how I feel these days." Phoebe sighed and wrapped her arm around Paige. Paige rested her head on Phoebe's shoulder. "I feel so horrible Phoebe. She went through all of that and I wasn't there for her, at all. And Melinda. I should have been here for Melly…" Paige said as she sighed and lay down on the bed.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up over it. With the two of them, being the way they are, it was going to happen, no matter who was around. And I wouldn't count your blessings so soon; it's not over yet. Piper still needs plenty of support, and sisterly guidance. And, would you believe, come tomorrow, Melinda's gracing us with her presence at Noah's gig, so you'll be there to help pick up the pieces after that." Phoebe said with a nudge, and Paige gave her a small smile in response.

"HEY! Aren't you two done yet? Reservation is at 8. Move it or lose it sisters." Piper's voice echoed from the hallway as she rushed by the door. Phoebe and Paige snickered in unison and hauled themselves off the bed.

* * *

The red light flashed on as Evan scanned her new room with the video camera. Leo had moved the bed from the attic, into Meg's room for Evan. Together, both girls had moved the room around, so that it fit two bed, an extra desk and a ton more stuff comfortably. Meg had taken down her pictures from Evan's side of the room, leaving the wall awkwardly blank and boring. Evan had spent the last hour trying to find things to put up. So far she had a picture of her best friend, well ex-best friend, her parents and an M&M ad. What did she have on the walls in her old room? She couldn't really remember, everything seemed so hazy. She sunk onto the bed, her bed. She thought about trying to get back to home, to her Dad for the millionth time today, but she knew there was no point. One orb from Leo, or even her mum and she'd be back at the manor. She tried to pull herself together mentally, Leo and Cole were lurking around downstairs in an attempt to make pizza. Evan hardly ever cried. And if she did, it was always alone late at night, after everyone else had gone to sleep. And what, she had cried 3 times over the past 2 days? The very thought made herself hate everything and everyone even more. The room seemed so silent, and bigger even, without the presence of Meg. Automatically, she checked the clock and calculated that Meg would be back in 4 hours. The realization dawned on Evan; she missed Meg. Although Meg and her only made small conversation, it distracted Evan and almost brought a normal feel to her life. 

"Evan. Uhh…dinner's ready!" Cole's voice said from downstairs, most likely from the living room watching TV. Evan sighed and picked herself off the bed, realizing that she had inadvertently left the video camera on the whole time. She quickly turned it off and then paused. Evan shakily picked it back up and turned it towards her face, fiddling with the zoom out. As she pushed the record button, she did something she had never done before, she filmed herself. She looked directly into the camera, no smile, no tears, just a steady stare. This was who Evan was. Two eyes, two ears, a nose and a mouth. Nothing more, nothing less. The door suddenly swung open and Leo stuck his head in, "You coming? Pizza's getting cold." Evan quickly turned the camera off, and followed him out the door.

* * *

Meg sat on the edge of the lumpy hospital bed watching her 5-year-old patient scream in unbearable pain. A couple of weeks ago he had been badly burned at a fire in his school and was in the process of receiving various skin graphs. She had been with him since day one and watched him bravely face the surgeries. Everyday, she would come in just before dinner and read him his favourite book, The BFG and then play 3 games of go fish. Yesterday, the period of infection was past, or so the doctors informed his family, and he was going to get go home in a couple of days. Here he was today, with 17 open sores heavily infected, delirious with a fever and a discharge nowhere in site. It amazed her how much could change in such little time. When she had first come in this evening, the nurses all told her with hushed voices, that he was bad, really bad. According to them, he had been asking for her all day, and that all her other patients had been transferred over so that she could be with him. The drugs they had given him made him sleep, so at first all she did was sit with his mother and talk. 

That was until he woke up and his mother left to go eat. All it took was one look at his eyes to know that he was awful. He looked so small, hooked up to all the machines and Meg couldn't help but wonder how it was fair that a child would have to go through so much. Seeing him in pain was hard enough, but when he started screaming, that's when she really lost it. She instantly pressed the panic button above his bed, trying to remember what exactly she had been told in training to do. After 2 full minutes, help was yet to appear. She ran out the door making sure she stayed close to the screaming child, and looked down the hall into an empty nurses station. No one was there. What was she supposed to do? As she stood in the hall, willing anyone to come help her, the screaming suddenly ceased and the his heart monitor started beeping. "Oh fuck." Meg frantically took one last scan of the empty hallway, then rushed back to his side. He was unconscious, non-breathing and his pulse was all over the place, a critical state. Meg closed her eyes in silent prayer and reached out to grab his hand, not knowing what else to do. "Come on, I know you can hear me. Just hang on a moment bud. I'll read you all the BFG you want." A tingly sensation spread through her like fire and she jerked her eyes open to see his small body covered in blue sparkling lights. She looked down in amazement at her own hand, interlocked with his as his wounds closed up.

"Code red folks, code red." The doctor yelled as he came bursting into the room followed by 2 nurses carrying defib pads. Meg pulled her hand away quickly and sighed in relief as the blue orbs stopped. The nurse came scurrying over to Meg and patted her shoulder comfortingly. The heart machine stopped beeping and the little boy opened his eyes.

"Sorry deary. Shelia was in the bathroom; no one heard the alarm go off. We came as soon as we could." Meg nodded and watched as the doctor came to a complete stand still at the end of the bed, swiftly dropped his jaw in amazement as he saw the supposed near death patient sit up and wave his newly unscarred hand at him.

"But. How? Why?" The doctor stuttered as he looked at Meg questioningly.

"I was in the hall looking for help, and then I came back, and he was like this…" He starred at Meg for a split second, then turned back to the fidgeting little boy. The nurse took a moment to compose herself, then moved towards Meg and dragged her away from the commotion. She steered Meg towards the staff lounge and made her sit on the uncomfortable plastic chair.

"Are you okay?" Meg nodded still too shocked from everything to really think of an answer. Was she okay? She had no idea. "Okay, well you should sit here for a little bit. I'll come back and talk to you later." She patted Meg's hand comfortingly and then turned back into the boy's room. Meg could hear their muffled voices as they tried to figure out what happened. Meg slowly put her head in her hands and let out a breath she didn't even know she had been holding.

* * *

They sat watching the hockey game, feet up on the couch and drink on the table, without a coaster. 

"Piper would kill us if she saw what were we doing. " Cole said casually as he grabbed himself another slice of pizza from the delivery box. According to Leo, Cole had burnt Piper's store bought pizza, and according to Cole, it was Leo who had done the burning.

"Would she ever." Leo groaned.

"You are so whipped."

"Oh, like you're not afraid of Piper?"

"I'm not." Leo tossed a pillow at Cole. "Hmph. Fine. Maybe I am, but only a little bit." Leo gave Cole a look. "Alright, a big bit." Leo sat back in satisfaction, as they both once again concentrated on the game. Evan simply smiled to herself, her uncles had been nothing but fun all night.

"Oh crap." Leo said angrily as he tossed down his plate in frustration and stood up.

"That wasn't a goal dude, he missed." Cole said with a wave of his hand, not removing his eyes from the screen.

"Not that. I'm being called, I've got to go." Both Evan and Cole looked up in concern. "It's okay. It's more of a something big has happened in general way, so we're calling all whitelighters, as opposed to one of the girls are hurt." Cole nodded in relief, then glanced timidly over at Evan. Things were fine when Leo was around, but him and Evan alone? He wasn't sure that he could do that. This was Paige's daughter after all. His niece that he didn't know one bit. Megan and Melinda were completely different; they had been over to his house and in his care more times than he would have ever dreamed possible. He knew them. He loved them. He took a sharp breath in as he realized what he was just thinking. Didn't he love Evan? Cole looked up at Leo with an exchanged a look of concern that didn't go unnoticed by Evan. "Alright you two, stay out of trouble. I'll be back soon, I hope. If not, tell Piper what happened." Leo said as he orbed out. Cole swore under his breath as he looked around at the dirty house and then looked over at his quiet niece staring at him; he was going to get Leo back for this.

"So Evan, uh…what do you want to do tonight?" Cole asked an hour later. Neither had moved from the couches and nothing had been said since Leo's departure. Cole had given up hoping that Leo would come back, or that the girls would be home early.

"Nothing really. I mean, I can amuse myself in my room if you want. I don't need a babysitter, mum's just being an ass." Evan replied tartly. Cole tried to hide his amusement as he listened to her speak. As much as he knew she would hate to hear it, she was exactly like her mother.

"Trust me Evan, I'm not your babysitter. I'm here because Phoebe wanted a babysitter for me. She said that I needed to spend time with you and Leo." Evan didn't believe him, but decided to just bite her tongue. Cole racked his brain for something to do. He was almost ready to take her up on her idea to let her be by herself when he realized how horrible that was. He wasn't even giving her a chance. He wasn't trying to get to know her, or even like her. He glanced over at her, staring intently at the TV, and for the first time he noticed how she was hugging her knees so close to her chest, and the sadness in her eyes. "Come on." Cole suddenly said as he flicked the TV off and stood up. Evan looked up at him in surprise. "Come on." He repeated as he walked over to her and held out his hand. Cautiously she extended her own hand and allowed him to pull her up off the couch.

"Umm…shouldn't we clean up first? Didn't you say we should be afraid of Piper?" Evan asked as she tagged along behind him as they made their way through the kitchen.

"No, we'll leave it till later. Plus, by the time I'm done with you, she's the one that will fear you, not the other way around." Evan looked at him in confusion as he flickered the lights on, and then disappeared down the stairs into the basement. She took one last look around the messy kitchen, shrugged and followed Cole down the stairs.

* * *

"Kick left, punch right. Okay, try it again" Cole said as Evan attempted to punch the target Cole was waving around. "That was good. Want a break?" Cole asked as he put down the pads and threw a water bottle at her. Evan nodded and sat down on the stairs, winded and sore. Cole walked over and sat down beside her. Evan downed her entire bottle of water in one gulp and rested her head on the railing beside her, shutting her eyes. "You sure you want to keep doing this?" Cole asked as he took in her tired state. Cole was very impressed with Evan, as a person, and as a fighter. 

"Yup, it's fun." Evan said as she opened one eye and looked directly at him. She really was an amazing kid. She had already mastered most of the basics, in two hours, and still wasn't ready to give up. Evan fought from her heart, not from her head, a much-needed skill of any seasoned fighter. Honestly, Cole was more than a little excited to see than Evan was a natural. Megan and Melinda were never interested in martial arts; both had too much pacifist in them. Cole reminded himself that Evan was also part whitelighter, but as the sisters had already discussed when she was born, that part of her had never shown through. Her powers alone were a demonstration of a lack of whitelighter, because they appeared to be a replica of Prue's, as opposed to Paige's. Although Noah's powers were bound at birth to prevent any demonic mutations, Noah had trained most of his life, and could hold his own in most fights. It of course still made the family edgy whenever Noah was around during a demonic battle, just due to the simple fact that he had no powers of his own to rely on. Cole often wondered what his son's powers might be, but in his heart he knew that binding them was for the best. "Okay. I'm going to go upstairs and clean. You want to stay down here and keep going?" Cole said as he shook himself free of all his thoughts.

"Yes. " Evan replied almost instantly. Cole smiled.

"I thought you might say that. Alright, get to it then"

Evan concentrated on the bag in front of her, ignoring her aching muscles as she delivered another punch to it. She absolutely loved the feeling of her knuckles on the smooth insulated surface. The satisfaction as she heard the echo around the room from the impact. She had newfound respect for her uncle, not that she didn't respect him before, but more that she just didn't want to be around him. He had been more than patient as she clumsily attempted to copy his movements, and listened to his instructions. In the end, she could tell that he was more than a little proud of her, and she couldn't help but feel proud herself. Angrily, she realized that she had gotten lost in her thoughts again and was only staring at the bag, with her fists up in defensive position. Once again, she struggled to angle her leg correctly as she spun around and nailed the bag. That time it felt good. In fact, it felt great. She set up for the next kick and tried to be angry again. "This one's for mum," she muttered as she brought her foot into contact with the bag. She repositioned and tried it again. "This one's for school." Both kicks were the best she had achieved all night. Before Evan really knew what she was doing, she exploded onto the bag in a rampage of anger and emotion. Each shot was harder than the last, each kick higher. She felt the feeling of adrenaline as she propelled herself to be better and stronger. Go longer and harder. Hit more, hurt less.

Deep within the shadows of the doorway, Cole sat and watched with a smile.

* * *

Evan awoke with a start, painful and stiff. She immediately covered her eyes from the blinding sunlight streaming through the window. Evan rolled out of bed, trying to ignore the shooting pain in her left ankle and checked the clock on Meg's dresser. 10:55. Way too early for Evan's liking. Evan was a late sleeper, mostly because she always lay awake tossing and thinking at night. It was no use to try to go back to sleep, once she was awake, she stayed awake. She paused like she always did at the top of the stairs and tried to figure out where people were, so she could best avoid them. She wasn't used to living in such a large household, at all and the constant action was beginning to wear on Evan's nerves. Silence. She knew that Meg and Piper were out with Melinda all day, but what about her mum and Leo? One of minute of silence and Evan decided the coast was clear. She padded quietly down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

"Hey you." Evan sighed in frustration as her mum looked up from the table. Paige quickly stood up from the table and passed Evan a steaming mug of coffee. "Piper…Piper said that you liked your coffee like that." Paige said quietly.

"Two creams, 4 sugars?" Evan asked sceptically as she slowly tasted it. Paige nodded. It was almost perfect, needed more sugar though. Evan gave a small awkward smile to her mum and leant back on the countertop, as far away from Paige as she could comfortably get.

"So Ev, got any plans for today?"

"No."

"Okay. Uhh…I kinda wanted to take you around to some places around town. If you want to that is…" Paige asked trying to be as causal as possible. She was however, nervous as hell.

"Well, actually, to tell you the truth, I don't really feel like it." Evan said trying to ignore the hurt in her mother's eyes.

"Oh, okay. That's fine. The invitation's still there anytime you want…"

Evan nodded and shifted uncomfortably in the silence that followed. She downed the entire streaming mug of coffee in one go, ignoring the scalding hot liquid burning her mouth, placed the mug carefully in the sink and muttered thanks as she tried to make her way back upstairs to her room.

"Wait!" Paige called out as Evan disappeared into the living room. Seconds later, she reappeared, looking rather annoyed. Paige took a deep breath and did what she knew had to be done. "Sit down kiddo." Evan tried to open her mouth in protest but Paige cut her off. "I don't care if you don't want to, we need to talk. Sit. " Paige pushed the chair out and Evan sunk onto it with an agitated sigh. Paige willed herself to stay calm. "Okay. You know I love you very much, more than anything." Off Evan's snort Paige continued. "I'm completely serious about this Evan. You're my world. I know that you may think differently right now, and I'm the first to admit that I haven't exactly expressed my love to you in a very long time, but I do truly love you." Evan's emotionless face stared back at Paige. "And, in saying that, I know that you're hurting, and that you have been for a very long time. I just haven't realized it till now. I think you need to understand that this whole thing with your dad has nothing to do with you. You've done nothing wrong, and we both love you very much. We just can't be with one another anymore."

"Fine, then get a fucking divorce. I don't care, get this over with so I can go back and be with him." Paige sighed and tried to remind herself that it was Evan's pain talking. She worked with kids like this all the time, just looking for someone to blame everything on. Anger was easier to feel than emotions. But somehow, Evan's fierce look and tone felt much different than a simple social services case to her. It was too real, and it hurt too much.

"We're not getting a divorce, at least not yet. You can't be with him, case closed." Paige closed her eyes hoping that Evan would drop the argument. She couldn't, no, she wouldn't tell her daughter that her father, the man she loved so much, was abusive and an alcoholic. She would keep that from Evan as long as they both lived, and longer. She tried to clear her mind and concentrate on what she needed to say, she was getting distracted and she couldn't afford to be questioned by Evan. "What I'm trying to say is that you need help. You're angry. You're hurt. You're depressed. No one's expecting this to be easy on you, but you don't let anyone help you. You don't talk. You don't smile. You don't do anything Ev, and it kills me to watch you suffer like this. Everyone's worried about you." Evan closed her eyes and tried to block out what her mum was saying. She had already counted the tiles on the floor, and read the back of every cereal box sitting on the counter. "Look. I've been there. I've been 16 and felt alone. I've pushed everyone and everything away because it makes the hurt go away. But you know what, it doesn't go away, and you're not alone. I'm here. Your aunts and uncles and cousins are here. I…I just don't want you to end up like me." Evan opened her eyes in fury and stared her mother down.

"I will never be like you." The words hung in the air as Evan quietly stood up, ran out through the kitchen, into the living room and out the front door without a single glance back. She was so concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, that she didn't even notice her body shaking or the single solitary tear that slipped down her cheek.

* * *

"Meg! SLOW DOWN!" Piper screamed as Meg swerved into Melinda's apartment parking lot. Meg rolled her eyes in protest and gently tapped the brakes to satisfy her mother, who in her nervous mood today, had Meg drive 20 miles under the speed limit. Meg could tell exactly what her mother was thinking in the silence of the car. She knew that her slightly clenched fists meant she was nervous. That her pursed lips meant she was trying to stay calm. And the slight twitch in her eye was an indication that she was lost in thought, most likely in memories. Meg's hand instinctively found Piper's and squeezed it in reassurance as she pulled into a parking space and stopped the car. Meg looked around at the building as she let have Piper have a moment to think. The building reminded her of apartments on tacky cops TV shows that got busted into for murders and drug busts. It probably wasn't all the far from the truth. Graffiti filled the stained red bricks, and Meg could see a rather dirty carpet on the Lobby floor through the metal barred door. "Better you than me, Mel." Meg muttered to herself. Piper looked up in response to the noise. 

"Did you say something?" Meg shook her head and Piper sighed one last time. "I guess we should get going then. You ready?" Meg nodded and stepped out the car.

* * *

Evan wandered through the street aimlessly. She had no idea where she was, and didn't care in the slightest. She wanted it to rain, it seemed fitting. In movies, whenever a person is roaming the streets depressed, it was raining. The rain was always refreshing anyway. It made everything new again. She wanted to go home and apologize to her mum, the cruelty of her words hit her the second she took off in a run. She didn't even know why she said that. Her mother's word rang in her head. Evan still didn't believe them, not for one second, but the mere fact that her mum had said them was a start. 

"Hey kid!" A male voice yelled behind her. Evan stopped and spun around to face the familiar eyes of London. He sat in a flashy red convertible, music blasting, looking more attractive then she remembered.

"Hi. I thought you said I wasn't ever going to see you again."

"I changed my mind."

"Lucky me."

"Very lucky you. Want a ride?"

"I don't have anywhere to go."

"Home perhaps? You don't look so hot."

"Trust me, I'm not welcome there anymore. I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer anyway."

"Okay, well, want to come for a drive with me?"

"My mum always told me never to get into a car with a stranger."

"Me? A stranger? I know you better than you know yourself."

"How stalkerish. You're not really working the friendly stranger angle very well."

"Practice makes perfect right? Come on, get in the car. I want to take you somewhere special.

"Yet again I remind you that the friendly stranger personality is a bit concerning."

"Evan. I'm being completely serious here. You look like crap. I don't know what happened, but it's obviously something big. Now, you can either walk around doing nothing, being lonely and depressed, or you can take a chance and come with me. I won't hurt you, I promise." Evan hesitated, but eventually the realization that she was shivering, hungry and lost dawned upon her. She could deal with him if he got out of hand, she did have her powers. He pushed the door to the convertible open as she stepped in warily.

"My bark's bigger than my bite." London said as he pushed down on the accelerator, hard.

* * *

Piper's hesitant knock rang out through the hallway. Meg looked around apprehensively, afraid that someone might come out and tell them to keep it down, rather forcefully. The sound of a deadlock being unbolted, then a chain, and finally the twist of a door handle brought a particularly scruffy guy to stick his head out the door. Piper gulped. 

"Is Melinda there?" He looked at her suspiciously, and then turned and hollered something unidentifiable over his shoulder. A female voice's response could be heard from within, as he gave a strained smile to Piper, and then drifted his attention over to Meg. She received a nod of approval, then a smile. Meg shifted towards her mother under his gaze.

"How do you folks know Mel?" He said as Piper cleared her throat.

"We're family." Piper replied curtly, under the influence of both the boy's poor manners and her own nervousness of seeing Mel. He looked at them in surprise, and then disappeared behind the door as Mel came into view. Both Piper and Meg were taken back with Meg's changed appearance, but tried not to show it. What used to be long dark hair was now cut drastically short and dyed blonde. She was thin, and rather frail looking, a direct contrast to the sporty girl they once knew. Although she was still beautiful, the constant drug abuse, sleep deprivation and malnourishment could be seen in her dull, drooping eyes and pale skin.

"Hi." Melinda said quietly. She regretted not showering, or changing out of her day old clothes.

"Hi." Piper said, looking over her daughter again, not failing to notice the wedding ring she was toting on her finger. Mel followed her mother's gaze and quickly shoved her hands in the pockets of her ripped jeans.

"Uhh…not that I don't want you here, but why are you here?" Melinda asked making sure to keep the door as closed as possible. She was mentally running over all of the incriminating objects that were scattered over her apartment.

"It's Saturday Mel, Saturday the 14th." Meg said with annoyance. Would her sister ever change? Mel looked to Meg, then to Piper with a blank stare. "Noah's gig," Meg finished.

"Oh! Right. Just give me a sec…wait right here?" She asked looking from her mother, seemingly emotionless, to her agitated little sister, closing the door when they didn't object. The second it clicked into place, she banged her head against it in frustration. She knew that the concert was today. This was not the way she expected things to go, nor was it the way she wanted them to go. She was just so used to living from one hour to the next, one paycheck to another. She lived out her life hanging out with her same old friends, doing the same jobs day in, day out, and eating the same cheap food. Nothing was scheduled, and nothing was ever planned. Mel quickly leapt into action as she scoured the floor for a clean sweater, and then took a 10-dollar bill from the secret money stash under the kitchen sink.

"What are you doing with the money? I need that to buy the coke tonight." Phil said with his eyes closed, obviously coming down, sprawled out on the ratty sofa bed couch, the only bed they had.

"I told you, I don't do that shit anymore, and neither should you. We have to be clean for Maddy." Mel walked over and knelt down beside him so that he would hear everything she was saying. "I'm going out with my mum and sister."

"Since when do you give a fuck about your family? I thought you hated them."

"I do. Well, did. Look, I'll be gone all day. Eat something won't you? There's leftover pizza on the counter." Mel bent down and kissed him. Phil suddenly came back to life and deepened the kiss. Before things progressed any further, Mel pulled away and kissed him on the forehead instead. "We'll finish that later, I really do have to go… "

"I love you."

"I love you too, but you ain't getting laid." Phil gave Mel a weak wave as she reached the door, being careful to kick the empty beer bottles out of sight.

* * *

"What are you looking at?" Evan asked London as he looked up into the empty sky. They had arrived in a vacant field 5 minutes previous, at which point London had climbed out the car, and laid down on the warm hood. Evan had followed suit, knowing that she wasn't going to get any answer to what his big surprise was. She had pestered him the entire hour-long drive and he hadn't leaked a word. Nor had she. They had made a pack, when she saw the surprise, she would tell him why she was so upset. 

"Wait." He said still not taking his eyes off the sky. She grunted and rolled back over onto her back.

15 minutes later, Evan angrily sat up and looked at him. "What am I waiting for? We're going to be here all day. Why won't you just tell me what the surprise is?" Just as Evan was about to jump off the hood and go back to sit in the car, London grabbed her and pulled her back down gently.

"Look." He pointed to the far end of the field where something was moving in the sky. It slowly neared them, and it got lower and lower to the ground. Evan sucked in her breath as she realized it was an airplane, and it was coming in awfully fast. The rumble soon turned into ear deafening noise and the plane came zooming towards them. Evan yelped in fear, and closed her eyes. "Keep watching." London said softly as he grabbed her hand and squeezed it. She opened her eyes cautiously, just as the plane soared right over them. Evan could feel the wind from it on her face, and was almost positive that if she reached her hand up, she could have touched it. It soon disappeared from view, leaving them alone in the silent field once again.

"Wow, that was amazing." Evan turned towards London, who smiled cockily.

"Didn't I tell you it would be?" Evan nodded, then suddenly followed her urges and moved in to kiss London. London looked up at her, shocked.

"I'm sorry, I just…I wanted to thank you." She stammered as she moved away from him. He moved over, lying so that his head was right beside hers, and so he could look her straight in the eyes.

"Are you sure you wanted to?" Evan nodded slowly, hesitant and nervous. "I need a concrete answer here Ev. Did you want to kiss me?"

"Yes." London gave her a little half smile, then rolled over so he pinned her to the car. He lent down and tenderly kissed her back.

* * *

Meg twirled the pasta around on her plate in boredom. Even the busy atmosphere of the restaurant wasn't enough to entertain her. Her mother and sister had literally been exchanging the most mundane small talk for the last 2 hours. Questions about the club. The weather. The Bachelor. Phoebe's hair. Anything and everything to avoid any of the tiniest of issues they had. Meg could see a little change in her sister, certain wisdom, and a slight apprehension towards her mum and her that had never been present before. Meg sighed loudly as the table fell into silence once again. Both Mel and Piper looked over at her, pleading with her to think of something to add to their futile conversation. 

"So, uh, Meg, why don't you tell your sister about the colleges you want to go to…" Piper said casually after another minute of silence. Meg grunted in frustration, she just couldn't take anymore. She took a deep breath, preparing herself.

She turned to Piper, "Mum, you haven't waited 4 years to only discuss the weather with Mel. Tell her what you've wanted to say. Tell her that you think you failed her, and drove her away. Tell her that you still love her, and that you need her because she's your daughter." Both looked up at Meg in shock. "Don't look at me like that, I know that all of what I just said is true. Mel's not your only daughter, not the only person who's supposed to know you. And you, " Meg spun and looked at Mel, who recoiled in fear, a trait Meg was not used to seeing in her sister. She took a minute to process this, before continuing, "you need to tell mum that you're sorry, because she needs to hear it. And if you're not prepared to apologize, then you need to leave right now, because mum deserves more. You need to explain why you did the things you did, because she just can't figure it out on her own. You need to tell her what exactly you have been doing these past 4 years. I know it's probably not good, or legal really, but you need to suck up your pride and just tell her. That's why all this happened, because you didn't tell anyone anything." Meg stood up from the table and started to walk away. She paused. "And, since when were you married?" She continued on her journey out the door, leaving both women flabbergasted at the table.

"Well, she's certainly…a lot more bold then I remembered." Mel said quietly trying to break the awkward silence. Piper looked up at Mel, still trying to digest everything Meg had said.

"Yeah, losing her big sister can do that to a person."

"Oh." Mel looked down guiltily. "Look mum..."

"No Mel, you don't have to say anything." Piper said quickly. She waived over the waiter, momentarily averting any further conversation. Mel watched her ask for more water, knowing the she was just trying to avoid everything, then started right back up again the second the waiter disappeared.

"Mum, Meg's right. I do need to say something. I am truly sorry. I'm not necessarily sorry for everything I did, but I am sorry for hurting you. And dad. And Megan. I love you mum, and I have never stopped. I wish I could take the words, the times I worried you guys and the tears I made you shed back, but I can't. I don't expect you to forgive me, I won't ever forgive myself, I just want you to know that you did nothing wrong. I know you won't believe me, but running away was the best thing I ever did. It made me realize how much you, all of you meant to me, but I was too proud and too caught up in my wild life to tell you. I'm not going to deny that I've done a lot of…dangerous things in my life, but I only did it to push everything away. I tried to fill the void of losing my family with everything, with anything. I was young, and stupid, and I thought that I didn't need you. I convinced myself that I didn't. But I guess you were right, destiny knows best." Mel said with a watery smile. "And, I got married 3 months ago, to Phil, the guy in my apartment, well, our apartment. He's one of two things in a long time that's made me happy. I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

"Mel, honey, you don't need to be sorry. You have no idea how much what you just said meant to me. I love you, and I can't forgive you, only because there's nothing to forgive you for. I should have fought harder for you. I let you go. I gave up on you, a long time ago, a long time before you even left. You were just testing, being a teenager. I overreacted…"

"Mum…" Melinda started, but Piper held out her hand to stop her.

"No Mel, I did. We were so hard on you. Always punishing you. I realized that after you left, I hadn't actually said something positive to you in months. That I yelled and threatened, but I never once asked you if you were hurting. I never put a full effort into helping you through your anger and pain. I blamed everything that went wrong in my life on you. Your dad and I, we never talk about you. We just pushed you aside from our lives. I want you to know that not a day goes by when I don't think about you, when I don't regret something or worry. I shouldn't have let you get this bad. You shouldn't be this bad."

"I'm not bad, at least, not anymore. I know you probably won't believe me, but I've changed. I don't hang out with my old friends. I got out of my relationship with Will and I got my act together. I have 3 jobs now. I have an apartment. I pay my taxes and clean my kitchen. I…I have a daughter." At Melinda's comment, Piper dropped her fork in shock. Melinda swallowed hard.

"You…you what?"

"I have a daughter. Madison. She's 6 months and living with Phil's parents until we can both get clean. It's hard, and we're not there yet, but one day we'll all be together. We'll save up our money and move out of this neighbourhood and into a house. She'll get to play on a lawn, and go to a nice school. And, hopefully, if you'll let her, she'll get to know her grandmother…" Melinda nervously looked up at Piper, trying to gauge any reaction she might have.

"Oh honey, of course I'd love that. I'm her grandmother? I'm a grandmother? Holy shit, I'm a grandmother. Can I see her?" Piper asked excitedly.

"If you really wanted to, we could drop by and see her. I visited yesterday, she has a cold, so she'll be grumpy, but I'm sure she'll still love you." Melinda said losing her battle with the tears of happiness.

* * *

Evan moaned as London reached down and pulled the shirt over her head. They had relocated themselves on to the grass beside the car, after they had both fallen off the hood in a particularly passionate kiss. They were both covered in dirt, and didn't care one bit. Evan reached down and started to unbutton London's pants when he pulled away panting. "We can't." 

"Why?" Evan asked simply as moved away from him and closed her eyes. He was going to tell her that he had a girlfriend. Or that he was gay. Or that he just didn't find her attractive.

"Because you're too young. And you're upset, I refuse to use you. I don't want you to think of me this way. I really like you; ever since that day in the park, you're all I've thought about."

"London, I'm ready. You're right to think I've never done this before, but it feels right. I don't care how old you are, you make me happy, and that's something I seem to be missing a lot in my life lately. You're not using me, I want to be with you." She rolled over so she had both her legs intertwined with his, and she kissed him, hard. He broke the kiss and looked into her eyes.

"I want to, I really do. I know that you can…uhh see that." London said as Evan smirked. "Are you sure about this? We don't have to…"

"I'm sure London. You have protection right?" Evan asked and London nodded. "Okay." She moved her hand down and finished unzipping his pants.

* * *

"Hey." Mel said as she walked over to Meg, sitting alone on a bench by a fountain. Piper tagged along after her. Meg looked up questioningly as they sat down beside her. 

"Are you okay?" Mel asked feeling decidedly guilty about Meg's distraught state. She knew that Meg was liable to take her sudden kindness as an insult, and really didn't blame her. Mel and Meg had never had a loving relationship, and in light of the last couple of years, the relationship had become non-existent. Both girls felt rather inferior after growing up hearing the many stories of their mother's childhood, and her strong bond with all 3 of her sisters.

"I'm fine." Meg said neither coldly, nor lovingly.

"You didn't sound fine in there…"

"I was just angry." Meg turned back to the fountain, ignoring the concerned look of Mel. "Did you and mum talk?" Meg asked after a moment. She could obviously tell that something had been discussed, as they both had red eyes and no longer glanced hesitantly towards each other.

"Yes, we did. Thank you for that Meg." Mel said with a little smile. Meg faked a small smile back. "Meg." Piper said suddenly, interrupting Mel and Meg's conversation. Meg looked up at her mother. "I love you, and I want to apologize for the way I've been treating you all these years. You're not Melinda." Piper quickly looked up at Mel, "No offended intended."

"None taken." Mel said with amusement. Piper turned back to Meg.

"And I was just afraid I was going to lose you too. You're an amazing daughter, and you should never feel like you're inferior to Mel. You're both special to me, in different ways. I love you equally."

"I know." Meg smiled and hugged her mother, who in turn moved one of her arms and ushered Mel to join in. Piper bent down and kissed each of her daughters' heads, feeling more complete than ever.

"Well ladies, I believe we have some shopping to do." Piper said a moment later as they all stood up.

"Yes, we do." Meg turned to Mel. "Mum needs new clothes."

"Hey! I do not. My clothes are perfectly fine thank you very much." Off the amused look of Meg, Piper turned to Mel. "Aren't they?" Mel stood, trying to decide between her mother's pout and her sister's snicker. She was still rather nervous about the sister/mother/daughter thing. She had, in fact, been pushing everything like this away for the last 10 years or so. The simple fact that she wasn't pushing anymore filled that empty void in her heart, and compelled her to side with her sister.

"Well, you could use a little work…"

"Ha!" Meg said sticking her tongue out at her mother. "Can I drive?" Meg asked her mother pleadingly.

"I guess so Auntie Meg." Piper said throwing her keys at Meg, trying to suppress her grin. Meg smiled in response, started to walk out the door, halted for a split second, then spun around and dropped her jaw at Mel.

"WHAT?"

* * *

Noah paced around the club in circles, running over the many checklists in his head. His stomach was in knots, and he had already puked twice, not that he told anyone. Tonight was his night, the only chance he would get. He checked his watch, and groaned knowing he had less than two hours till the doors opened. He forced his attention on his mother and father, walking in the backdoor, talking to Piper about the stage. He rolled his eyes at the video camera his father held in his hand. 

"Stop pacing, you'll ruin the new floor." Paige said as she came up behind her nephew and grabbed his shoulders to make him stand still. She had been watching him for the last 10 minutes, including the two times he ran off to the bathroom and knew that he needed help to be calmed down because he wasn't doing it himself. He turned and tried to give her a fake smile but she saw right through it. "Relax Noah, everything will be fine."

"I know. I'm just…"

"Nervous?"

He laughed. "Yes."

"Why don't you go sit with your friends over there, I promise they'll keep your mind off everything." She pointed towards the rest of his band, sitting the corner, talking and laughing. He was positively livid for a second, they should be practice, warming up, not talking, when he realized that he was being stupid. The reason they made music was for fun. How was pacing around and freaking out having fun? He reached over and gave Paige a quick hug before he scurried off towards the group. She smiled in accomplishment and made her way over to her sisters and Cole, who was still playing around with his camera.

"Hey Paige" Piper said as she looked up from fiddling with the mikes.

"Hi." Paige noticed Phoebe in a tranced state, watching Noah in the corner. Paige waved her hand in front of her face and Phoebe jumped back to attention.

"Oh, hi Paige. Sorry."

"That's okay. Why are we starring at Noah with motherly concern?" Phoebe sighed and leaned against Cole.

"No reason. Just having one of those moments where I realize that he has his own life." Cole hugged her sympathetically in a quick awkward fashion, and then went back to playing with his video camera again. He turned it on and filmed each one of the sisters.

"Ugh, Cole. Turn that stupid thing off. Or, even better yet, go join Noah's party" Piper said with her hand covering the camera, as she pushed him towards Noah and his friends. All the sisters watched in amusement as Noah groaned and tried to talk his dad out of filming him. Paige soon turned back to her sisters and noticed that it was now Piper who was lost in her own world.

"Hey Pipe, when are Megan and Melinda getting here?" Piper had told her sisters the entire tale of her day.

"They should be here any minute now." Paige nodded then sighed as her thoughts wondered to her own daughter, missing in action ever since this morning. She had just told her sisters that Evan left in the afternoon and that she would arrive at the club sometime this evening. Paige hoped that it was true. Ever since Evan's late night disappearance a week ago, she had been working on her whitelighter sensing powers. Presently, she knew that Evan was safe, but couldn't determine where she was exactly. She had secretly tried scrying earlier in the attic, but it didn't work. She sighed for a second time in a row, and decided to busy herself with cleaning the counters of the bar, as far away from her sisters and their suspicious as possible.

* * *

Evan sat in the car, firmly grasping London's hand. They had been sitting on the corner, just around from the club, debating for the last 10 minutes. Evan didn't want to go. She didn't want to have to go in to the club and face her family, and her mum. She didn't want to have to worry about them realizing that she was in fact, high. She didn't want to have to kiss London goodbye, not knowing when they'd be able to see each other next. She wanted to stay with his arms around her forever. 

"Maybe I won't go. We could just drive around. Or I could go to your party with you."

"No, Evan, you're going." London said forcefully.

"But I don't want to. I want to be with you." Evan whined as she kissed him.

"And I want to be with you, but your family wants you to be there. Don't think of it as being with your mum, think of it as being there for your cousin. This is his night, do it for him." Evan sighed, knowing he was absolutely right, but still not inspired enough to go.

London smiled as he thought of a plan. He got out the car, walked around to her door, and opened it for her. He reached out his hand and pulled her out the seat, so she was standing in front of him. "Okay, off you go." He said hopefully as he gently pushed her in the direction of the club. Unfortunately, she turned back mischievously, pressed herself up against him and kissed him passionately. He parted her lips out of habit, then pulled back. "You gotta go Evan." She pouted, but off his determined look she grunted and grabbed her stuff from the car.

"Okay okay, I'll go." She leaned over and kissed him one last time, during which he plucked a single stick from her hair. She grinned at him, before disappearing around the corner.

* * *

Paige gave a sigh of relief as she saw Evan walk through the door. Of course, Evan artfully avoided Paige's look and made her way over to Mel and Meg, who were sitting with Noah and his friends. 

"At least she showed." Paige muttered to herself as she went back to sweeping the floor.

Melinda looked over at Evan suspiciously. She could have sworn that her little cousin's eyes were bloodshot. She shook her head in disbelief and put it down to memories of her own teenage years. She rejoined Noah's conversation, pushing her suspicions out of her mind. Megan was too starring at her cousin, and unlike her sister, she was positive something was off. Meg casually walked over to Evan, and sat down beside her. Evan shifted uncomfortably under her cousin's attention.

"Hey."

"Hi." Evan muttered looking at her feet.

"Are you okay?" Megan asked quietly, not wanting anyone else to overhear her.

"Yes." Meg didn't believe her for one second, but knew she couldn't push Evan. She looked Evan over closely, trying to formula a plan of attack to get Evan to open up. Meg squinted in confusion as she noticed something in Evan's hair. Evan looked up in surprise as Meg picked it out.

"You had a stick in your hair."

"Oh. Thanks." Evan said as she ran her hand though her hair, desperately checking to see if there were anymore. After she assured herself that there weren't, she turned to Meg to explain herself. For a moment, she wanted to tell her cousin all about London. Maybe not the sex, but everything else. She just couldn't do it, she was too scared. "I uhh...I was on a walk in the park. I guess it fell in my hair." Meg nodded, and wondered to herself where the dirt on her cousin's forehead came from. She shrugged it off, as Piper came over to announce that they needed to get set up.

Phoebe slid the glass down the bar, to a brown haired woman near the end. The night was still young yet, and the bar was yet to be filled with demanding customers. She sat down on her stool, watching as Noah sauntered over to join Meg, Mel and Evan, pretending to push Meg off her chair. It felt so right to see them sitting together, all four of them. As she exchanged a look with Piper, and then Paige, she could tell that the perfection of this particular moment was in fact very real, and shared between all 3 sisters. They were all together, perhaps bruised, but alive all the same.

* * *

"Hey Phoebe." Phoebe looked up in surprise as Mel appeared at the bar. Mel took a seat and was soon followed by Evan, Meg and Noah. Phoebe looked up at Paige, busy with some guy hitting on her, and then at Piper, preoccupied with last minute details on the stage, and smiled mischievously. 

"Anyone want a shot for good luck?"

"Sure." Mel said quickly, followed by a nod from Noah. Phoebe's eyes lingered on Meg and Evan.

"Us?" Meg asked in surprise.

"Well yes, you would be part of the "anyone" demographic." Phoebe said as she poured out 4 hefty shots. Phoebe passed one to each cousin, still eyeing Piper and Paige out the corner of her eye.

"Drink up fast, and don't you dare tell your mothers. " Phoebe said as she pointed at Meg and Evan, and then disappeared to the other end of the bar where an impatient customer was waiting.

"Well, I say we make a toast." Mel said as she cleared her throat and thrust her glass into the air. "To Noah, and his fame!"

"To Noah." Everyone repeated then downed their shots. Meg coughed and gagged on the alcohol, while everyone else watched in amusement. Melinda turned to Evan and raised her eyebrows. Evan blushed, but before she could say anything else, Piper clomped on to the stage and waved Noah over. Noah nervously stood, and started to move away but was stopped by Meg.

"You'll be fine Noah. You're great." Meg pulled him into a hug and whispered into his ear, "Show the agent what I know you can do." She pulled out of the embrace and pushed him towards the stage, with a reassuring smile.

"Go get em Tiger." Melinda said as Noah looked back at them hesitantly, before disappearing into the crowd.

* * *

Meg and Evan sat at the bar, unattended as Paige and Piper liked to call it. Melinda had disappeared off to make some phone calls, leaving the two of them alone. Neither mother had noticed, therefore Meg and Evan intend to make the most of their situation. Evan was tempted to order more drinks, but held back knowing how dangerous and harmful that mistake could be. Meg fiddled with her hair, and watched as a young guy walked towards her. Meg looked up and shared a look with Evan, as he came up, put his hand on Meg's leg and opened his mouth to speak. 

Before Meg even knew what happened, Piper barrelled over and knocked the guy's hand away. "Oh no you don't. Keep it moving buddy." Piper said watching in satisfaction as he scampered off into the crowd. She looked Meg and Evan over, and then pointed to the alcove where Paige and Phoebe were sitting. "You two, over there."

"But mum…"

"No buts Meg. I don't have time for this." Piper sighed as she looked over at the stage area, and the checklist in her hands.

"Why should we move? We didn't do anything wrong!"

"Maybe not, but it's not safe for you here."

"Why isn't it safe? We're in the middle of your club. There's our entire family floating around here, keeping on eye on us."

"Meg, you haven't seen what I've seen in this club. It's not safe. Now, you either go over there, or I'll get your father to take you home." Piper said as she glared down at her daughter.

"Don't bother, I'll leave myself." Meg said angrily standing up, walking through the crowd and out the door, Evan tagging along after her.

"Fuck." Piper muttered as she walked over to her sisters.

* * *

"I can't believe she said that! She's just so…ARG!" Meg screamed out in frustration as they walked along the street. She kicked a rock extra hard as it bounced down the road. Evan watched her silently. 

"Do you want to go back? You don't have to be with me…" Meg said finally taking in her cousin's silence.

"No. I'd rather be with you. And if it helps any, I'd rather not be around my own mother tonight either." Evan paused and looked over at Meg. "Anywhere specific you wanted to go?" Meg shook her head. Evan smiled slightly, then turned around and headed in the opposite direction. Meg followed in confusion.

"Where are we going?"

"To have some fun."

* * *

"Phoebe, honey, you're not supposed to cry at a rock show." Paige said as she passed Phoebe a tissue. Piper smirked beside her. 

"I know. It's just, he was so good. And grown up. And talented." Phoebe said as she wiped her eyes and glared at Cole who was filming her. Paige looked over at Piper's worried expression.

"They're fine. I can feel her. Just give her some time to cool down." Paige said comfortingly as Piper tried her best to believe her. Across the room, Noah slowly meandered though the crowd, in search of his cousins, and then finally settled on talking to his parents. Just as he was about to reach them, a young man tapped him on the shoulder. Noah spun around, and dropped his jaw in recognition.

"Mr. Turner. I believe you knew that I was coming." Noah could only nod. "Well, it seems that we have some things to discuss…"

* * *

Meg stood outside the booming house in shock. "Evan, this is a party." 

"Uh huh, it is." Evan said as they walked up the driveway.

"I don't do parties. Parties are pointless. Just a way for a bunch of kids to prove to each other that they're cool by drinking alcohol, doing drugs and having sex."

"Uh huh, they are" Evan repeated.

"And since when do you go to parties?"

"Since I got here." Evan said as she pushed the door open, and ducked to avoid the drunken boys run past her. She turned around and gestured to the open door. "Now, are you coming?"

"Fine. But only because I don't trust you in there alone." Meg said as she followed Evan angrily into the packed house. Meg gritted her teeth as she looked around at the people that surrounded her. In the corner she could see a couple all but taking off their clothes. To her left, a group of guys were engaging in a shot contest, with the losers passed out on the floor beside them. And to her right, a group of people danced wildly on tables.

"Evan?" Meg spun around in confusion as an older brown haired guy walked up to Evan, and gave her a long fervent kiss. Evan pulled away sheepishly and looked over at Meg's raised eyebrows.

"London, this is my cousin Meg. Meg, this is London." London reached out to shake Meg's hand. She could smell the weed on him.

"What are you doing here?" London asked as he wrapped his arm around Evan. Meg was absolutely stunned. Who was this guy? How did he know Evan? What was she doing at this party? Meg could only gawk as Evan and London continued their conversation, seemingly unaware of Meg's presence.

"The concert didn't quite go as we planned. I figured, why not come here, we really had no where else to go." Meg could think of many other places that they could have gone to, but decided to keep quiet instead.

"Well, I'm glad you came. I couldn't stop thinking about this afternoon." Off Evan's obvious embarrassment, Meg couldn't help but wonder what exactly had gone on. "Well come on, I want to show you off to the boys. Plus, you two look like you could do with some drinks in you." Evan nodded and watched as London started to walk away. She looked over at Meg, wincing at her fierce glare.

"Come on. I'll tell you everything, I promise. Just trust me." Meg followed, not knowing what else to do.

They entered the kitchen, which was decidedly empty in comparison to the rest of the house. Around the long, oval table sat 6 guys.

"Everyone this is Evan and Megan. This is…everyone." London said as he grabbed two beers of the counter and offered them to Evan and Meg. Both girls took them, Meg being the more hesitant of the two. "We'll be right back." Evan said a moment later as she grabbed Meg's hand and pulled her into the next room.

"We…don't have to stay if you don't want to." Evan said tentatively as she took a swig of her beer and observed her cousin's attitude. Meg was just about to tell Evan that yes, they should in fact leave because this wasn't the type of thing either of them should be doing, when she saw Evan's hopeful face. Evan obviously wanted to stay, most likely for her boyfriend, and Meg couldn't get rid of the feeling that this was the most open Evan had ever been. Meg sighed, looking down at the drink in her own hand.

"No, it's fine. We can stay. Just, promise me that you'll explain everything to me later."

"I promise." Meg smiled in triumph and took a sip from her own beer; it tasted awful.

* * *

Melinda watched her mother check her watch for the 3rd time this hour. She couldn't help but wonder if this is what it was like every time she herself ran off, and left her parents wondering and worrying. She shared a concerned look with Noah, as they both looked around the silent alcove. Everyone was lost in his or her own thoughts. 

"I…" She faltered as everyone looked up at her. "I could probably find them if you want me too"

"You don't have to, we'll just call your father a little bit later."

"No. I can do it. I've done it before."

"Yes, you did…but that was a long time ago Mel." Piper said gently.

"I think she can do it. I'll go with her. We'll bring them back together." Noah said as he stood and gave Mel a nod of reassurance.

"I don't know…what if you get lost?" Phoebe asked cautiously.

"We won't, and if we do, I have my cellphone." Noah said as he pulled it out and waved it at her. "It'll be fine." Phoebe scowled in response.

"I say you go for it." Paige said, finally speaking up. Paige gave Mel a supportive smile, and Noah looked pleading at his mother and aunt.

"Okay, do it." Piper said quietly a moment later, trusting Paige's instincts, and not being able to resist her daughter's pleading eyes. Mel stood up and reached out to grab Noah's hand.

"Mum?" Noah asked hesitantly.

"Alright already. Just be careful. Both of you."

* * *

Meg glanced over at Evan, sitting on London's lap and broke out into a wide grin. She stumbled over, and patted Evan on the head. 

"This was a good idea. I like this." Meg slurred as she sat down across from them. London and Evan shared an amused look.

"I'm sure you do. Just don't have anymore, okay?" Evan said as she took the bottle out of Meg's hands.

"Why?"

"Because you're drunk."

"I'm not." She looked up at Evan and pointed shakily at her. "I would know if I was drunk."

"Stand up."

"Okay." Meg stood up, then grasped onto the table for dear life. "Whoa, the ground's moving, feeling dizzy…" She collapsed into the chair. Evan broke out in hysterical laughter.

"See, you're drunk."

"Only a little." Meg muttered as she closed her eyes.

"No! No, Meg, stay awake. You'll regret it if you fall asleep." Evan said she leapt up, tripping over her own feet and landing on the floor. Meg opened her eyes and smiled at Evan, sprawled out on the floor.

"Hi ya Evan."

"Hi ya Meg. Ugh, you're so far gone." She looked over at the guys around the table. "What the hell did you give her?"

"She's had about 3 beers, 6 or so shots." Evan grunted.

"She'll sober up soon," London said as he helped Evan off the floor. "And as for you, you're not looking so sober yourself."

"Uh huh." Evan muttered as she found his mouth, and quickly pressed her own against it. He brought his tongue to life, and moaned as she pushed herself against him.

"Get a room!" Some guy called out from behind them. London pulled back and rested his forehead on hers.

"Not a bad idea. Come on…" He grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the stairs.

"Wait! I can't leave Meg…"

"She'll be fine. The guys will watch out for here." Evan looked at him hard. "Hey, they may not look like much, but they're honest, good guys. They'll take care of her, I promise. She'll be fine."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive." She nodded, knowing that he wouldn't lie to her and followed him into a bedroom.

* * *

Mel and Noah drove up into the driveway, as per Melinda's sensing directions, and dropped their jaws simultaneously as they took in their surroundings. 

"Are you sure they're in there?" Noah asked. Mel closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Yes." She said confidently as she climbed out the car, and started to walk briskly towards the house.

"Here goes nothing." Noah mumbled to himself as he followed her.

Mel skidded to a halted as she ran into the kitchen, and saw Meg surrounded by guys. Noah scampered in behind her, but took on a more protective and action oriented attitude as he walked over to Meg and pulled her up angrily. She looked at him in confusion then gave him a lopsided grin.

"Nooooah." He did a double take as he took into her drunken state. He could practically taste the alcohol coming off her breath.

"She's drunk? She's drunk!" Melinda exclaimed snapping out of her trance walking over to her swaying sister. She glared at the guys at the table. "What did you do to her?"

"Hey hey. We didn't do nothin. She came here willingly. We even cut her off about 30 minutes ago." Some scrawny boy said at the end of the table. "You are so dead." Mel muttered as she looked at her sister, singing to herself in Noah's grip. She turned back to the boys. "Where's Evan?" The same scrawny kid snickered. Melinda sent him a death stare and he soon shut up. "Where is she?" Melinda asked again. Everyone shifted uncomfortably.

"She's upstairs."

"Upstairs!" Noah said anger building. He grabbed onto to Meg hard, and started to drag her towards the door. Melinda reached out and stopped him

"Upstairs with who?" Melinda asked the scrawny kid once again, giving her cousin the benefit of the doubt.

"With London" Mel set her jaw and turned to Noah.

"You take Meg to the car, I'll go get Evan." She stated, taking on her leadership role as eldest for the first time in years. Noah nodded and disappeared through the front door as Melinda hastily made her way upstairs. She looked down the hall, at the many rooms, plagued with memories of her own parties, too similar to this one for comfort. She was angry, very angry. How could Meg have come here, and gotten so drunk? How could she be making the same mistakes Mel made? Mel reminded herself of her task at hand, and pushed open the door to the first room she came across. Two teenagers leapt off each other and tried to cover themselves up. "Sorry, wrong room." She muttered as she closed the door behind her. Why did she have a sudden urge to tell them to stop? Stop with the sex, and the drinking, and probably the drugs. To tell all of these kids to go home, that it wasn't worth it. She closed her eyes and concentrated on finding Evan instead. She felt a pull from the door, 3 from the left. She walked over to it, and hesitantly pushed it open. Evan looked up from her position on the bed, and gawked in surprise.

"You, off her." Melinda ordered as London jumped up. Mel took in their dissembled state and sighed with slight relief. Evan was almost fully clothed, just rather ruffled. London had lost his shirt, but his pants were firmly buckled. They hadn't gone as far as she had first assumed.

"Whoever you are, I suggest that you leave now." Melinda said as she threw his shirt at him, and looked at the door expectantly. She was hit with such déjà vu, when she looked over at Evan and realized how old London really was. He had to be at least 21? 20? What the hell was Evan doing? And why did it seem like everyone was following in her footsteps?

"No." Evan replied boldly, slightly slurring the words. "We're taking him home."

"What?" Melinda asked preoccupied with glaring at London. He was practically a child molester in her eyes.

"We're taking him home." Evan repeated as she walked over to London, shying away from Mel and grabbing his hand. "He needs to go home," she said as she took a little step towards Melinda.

"Fine." Mel said and Evan nodded obediently, following her down the stairs, pulling London behind her.

"Who's he?" Noah asked as they reached the car.

"London." Melinda replied tersely. A flash of understanding crossed Noah's face as he too glowered at London.

"We're taking him home." Melinda said quickly, brushing past Noah and checking on Meg.

"She's been out ever since we got back to the car." Noah said as Mel nodded and climbed into the back beside her unconscious sister. She shifted Meg so that her head was leaning on Mel's shoulder.

* * *

"London? Come on dude, wake up." Noah said as he shook him. Both Melinda and Noah had failed to notice him pass out a few minutes previous. Evan sat to Melinda's right, leaning against the window with her eyes closed; Mel could tell that she wasn't asleep. 

"Leave him, we can carry him to his house if we need to." Mel said as she looked down at Meg making noises. "Uhh...Noah?"

"Yeah."

"We need to…" Melinda was cut off as Meg suddenly opened her eyes and threw up all over the car. She soon fell back unconscious on Melinda's shoulder. "…stop."

"NO! Not my car. Tell me she didn't just puke all over my car." Noah said from the front as he tried to get a look at the damage.

"Well she did. We'll deal with it later. Right now, we need to get them sobered up. Mum and Paige will kill us if we bring them home like this."

"I don't know that we can Mel. Meg, at the least, will be out for another 4 hours or so. Not to mention one hell of a hangover tomorrow. And Evan isn't in a much better state. Piper and Paige are going to notice…"

"I know, I know. What else can we do though?"

"Well…we could take them to your place…" Noah added hesitantly. Melinda looked up and thought about it. Even in the state they were in, did she really want them exposed to everything that was in her apartment? And what about Phil, how would he take her bring home two drunk kids? But what other choices did she have? She knew that in her heart, she had to protect them from their mothers, and their mothers from them. If not only for the sake of preventing her mother from dealing with anymore pain.

"Okay, let's do it." Mel said, as she looked each one over.

"Well first, we need to take lover boy over here home. Evan, where does he live?" Evan opened her eyes and looked from Noah to Melinda. "Squirt?" Noah repeated, as he looked her in her into her eyes from the rear-view mirror.

"I…umm…I don't actually know." Evan stuttered as she held her head. She was hitting hangover stage, big time.

"What!" Melinda said as Evan winced.

"I don't know. I've never been to his house…"

"Why? How long have you known him?" Melinda asked suddenly picking up on Evan's dodgy behaviour. Evan closed her eyes, knowing what was coming.

"Three days."

"What?" Mel said as she glared at her cousin. "Noah, try to wake him up again.". Noah tried again, with the same outcome. London was unconscious, and he wasn't going to be regaining consciousness anytime soon.

"What do we do with him?" Noah asked seconds later.

"Could he come to your place, please?" Evan said quietly, opening her eyes to look at Melinda even although it hurt.

"I don't know Evan…"

"Please Mel. He has no where else to go…" Evan pleaded. Mel swallowed and tried to ignore Evan's pained look, but couldn't.

"Okay, fine, but one rule; he's sleeping in a separate room." Mel paused for a second and gulped. "I sound like my mother." Noah chuckled in the front seat. Mel scowled and hit him on the head.

"That's right, laugh it up Noah, you're the one with puke covering your back seat."

* * *

Noah carefully placed a sleeping Evan on the pull out bed, right next to Meg, snoring peacefully. He looked into the small bedroom, checking on London who he had dragged onto the floor, and then turned back to Melinda who was busy grabbing buckets from the kitchen. 

"They're all out cold." Melinda looked up at him, lost in her thoughts and nodded slowly.

"Thank you for coming with me Noah."

"Me? I should be thanking you."

"I don't need much thanking Noah, especially after everything, I don't deserve it."

"Mel, you can't keep living in the past…" Melinda slowly snuck to the floor and leant up against the ugly lime green cupboards.

"But when is the past? I've been horrible, to everyone, for so long. Including you…" She bit her lip. "And I'm sorry for that." He too moved to the floor, and crawled over to lean up against her, placing his head on the top of hers, just like they used to do when they were younger.

"You don't need to be sorry, I'm fine, and seeing you fine is apology enough. I've been worried about you, like we all have, until today. When I saw you look at Meg at the party, I knew the real Melinda was back. You've changed. Hell, you're a mother…" Noah said with a slight chuckle.

"I am, aren't I?" Mel laughed. "That in it's self is weird enough." She paused as she looked at him, and then sighed. "She's really beautiful, so little, and pure. I'll take you to meet her soon, uncle Noah." He smiled.

"I would really like that, but Mel, I'm not her uncle, I'm her…actually, I don't know that I have a title."

"Noah, she's my daughter, you'll have a title. You're a brother to me, and an uncle to my child." Noah grinned at her.

"Okay, I like that." Both sat in contemplative silence, disrupted only by the ticking of the old clock in the corner. "Mel." Noah said quietly moments later.

"Hmm?"

"Are you happy?"

"I'm getting there. Why, aren't you happy?" Noah thought for a second.

"No, I don't think I am." Just he was about to elaborate, his cellphone went off frightening them both. "Hi mum." Noah said sarcastically as he looked at the caller ID. Mel sat watching him in amusement, as he rolled his eyes at her. "No mum, we're all fine. We're at Mel's place." He paused and Mel could hear Phoebe muffled voice talking loudly on the phone. "We were bored, decided to come back for…uhh…coffee." Melinda jerked to attention as she watched him fiddling with his watch, knowing that he was a terrible lair. "Yeah, coffee." He looked frantically at Mel, who shrugged her shoulders in response. "No, Meg and Evan are uhh…busy, in the kitchen." Mel grunted then grabbed the phone out of Noah's hand.

"Phoebe?"

"Mel?" Phoebe's voice asked on the other side in confusion.

"Yeah, it's me. Noah just had to go help Evan put the coffee machine together in the kitchen. Poor kid doesn't know how to do it, tell Paige that that's a standard living skill that she neglected to teach her child." Mel gave Noah a small thumbs up as Phoebe laughed. "Listen, I was going to drive Meg and Evan home, but they're having a lot of fun over here. I was wondering if they could maybe stay over? We could have a movie night or something, like old times…" Mel said as she eyed them, both lying unconscious on the bed.

"You'd have to ask Paige and Piper." Mel bit her lip as she heard the phone being passed to Paige.

"Hi?" Paige said in confusion.

"Hey, it's Mel. Look, I was wondering if Evan could stay over here tonight?" Mel asked again. She could hear Paige breathing heavily.

"How…" Paige paused and Mel could tell that she was moving away from the group, as their voices slowly disappeared from the background. "Mel, how bad is she?" Mel's eyes opened wide in surprise, as Noah looked at her questioningly.

"W...what?" Mel stammered.

"Don't lie to me Mel. How drunk is she?" Mel groaned and put her head in her hands.

"Which one?"

"They're both drunk?" She asked angrily, and then sighed. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I guess they should stay there then, Piper will have a heart attack if she sees Meg."

"Yeah…" Mel said awkwardly.

"Okay, I'll cover for them tonight, and be there to pick them up at 12 tomorrow?"

"Alright. You can tell Phoebe that Noah's heading home."

"Okay. See you tomorrow then."

"Yeah, tomorrow." Mel paused. "Paige?"

"Yes honey?"

"I'll take care of them."

"I know you will. Thank you." Mel flipped the phone off and handed it back to Noah, still in a daze.

"They know?"

"Paige does. She's going to cover for us, well, them really. You should really get going." Noah nodded then stood up, offering his hand out to help Mel. He pulled her to her feet and they started towards the door.

"Where's your husband? Wow, that's weird to say." Noah said as he grabbed his coat and keys.

"Tell me about it." Mel nervously looked over at Noah and wondered if he could handle the truth. "Well, actually, he's probably out scoring." Noah looked up at her sharply with brotherly concern.

"Does he do that a lot?"

"Less than he used to…"

"Oh." A very uncomfortable silence settled over them.

"Look Noah, don't start to worry about me again, okay? He's coming clean, slowly. I'm not quite there myself, but we're doing it for Madison. He won't be home till tomorrow afternoon at the earliest, so Meg and Evan won't be anywhere near him." Noah nodded and hugged Mel.

"It's okay, you didn't have to explain. I trust you. Well, goodnight then." Noah muttered as he looked over at her uneasily.

"Easy for you to say, it's going to be a long night."

"Are you sure that you don't want me to stay, and help?" Mel shook her head stubbornly.

"No, you have to be at swimming tomorrow morning. I'll be fine, dealing with this stuff is second nature to me."

"I remember nights like this." Noah said suddenly as he looked over at Meg tossing on the bed.

"You? You remember nights like this? You, Mr. Perfect swimmer and honour student? " Mel asked sceptically.

"Well yeah. I mean, I stayed away from the hard stuff, but I was still a normal kid."

"I hate being the bad one."

"You do? I always thought you liked the attention."

"No way. I just always seemed to stumble into trouble wherever I went. I couldn't seem to live up to what everyone expected from the great prophesied Melinda, so I gave up."

"I know that feeling. I remember lying awake just feeling like such a failure because I didn't have any powers" Mel gave him a small smile.

"Noah, no one's ever held that against you, it's not like we're the next charmed ones. Powers aren't such a blessing anyway, I've been running away from them my entire life." Noah nodded in understanding and dangled his keys from his finger. He suddenly looked up at Mel. "I got a proposal for being signed to a label tonight."

"You're kidding!"

"No."

"Wow, congratulations." Melinda looked at him, standing solemnly. "Why am I the only one excited here?"

"Because if want to do it, really do it, I have to quit swimming and move to LA." Noah said as he looked down at his shoes, overwhelmed by the notion.

"Uh oh."

"You can say that again. Goodbye scholarship. Goodbye degree." Noah ran his hand through his hair.

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know Mel, I really don't."

"Just follow your heart, you'll do the right thing. You always do." Their discussion was interrupted as London moaned loudly from the next room. Mel and Noah exchanged a look, and ran into the room. The both stopped, and looked around in confusion at London, still fast asleep.

"He must be sleep talking." Mel paused as she looked down at London, sprawled out on the floor. "Do you know anything about him?" Mel asked she looked up at Noah, glaring at London.

"No. You?"

"Nada. They were really going at it when I walked in." Mel sighed and shifted her weight to her other foot. "I wanted to beat the living shit out of him, you know? I mean, he's what, 20? She's 16. But then again, who am I to say anything? I've been there, done the exact same thing. And I haven't talked to her, or Meg, or even you in years…"

"Neither have I Mel. I mean, with Evan living on the other side of the state, and Meg being so wrapped up in her life, it doesn't leave room for much bonding. It's not like we had powers to bond over. And, if it helps any, I wanted to beat the shit out of him too. Still do really." Mel smirked as she looked down at London sleeping. He didn't look so bad unconscious.

"It's weird isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Seeing them so…grown up. I know that they're not that much younger than us, but to me they're still the annoying little kids that followed us around. I guess with being gone, I forgot that they grew up too."

"Yeah." Noah looked over at Mel, leaning against the doorframe looking tired. "I guess I should head out, but before I go, I want to say this. This was a particularly bad night for Meg, and Evan's had a bad couple of weeks." Mel nodded, having been told Paige and Mike's story, minus a few details by Piper this afternoon. "They don't usually do this, so don't think that they do. Try to talk some sense into them, but don't be too hard on them, they've gone through enough…" Noah said as he opened the door. Mel nodded and followed him out into the hall.

"I won't. Be careful around here, okay? It's not a particularly safe place to be at night." Mel said as Noah hugged her goodbye, and then disappeared into the elevator.

* * *

The sickening pop of his shoulder as he reached his arm out sent a wave of nausea over him. He pushed himself forward, willing himself to overcome the pain and finish his final 25 laps. As he reached the surface, he could hear his coach yelling at him. 

"Turner! You have 25 more to go. Put everything you got into it, you're slacking off!" Noah pushed the pain aside and pressed ahead, full speed.

* * *

Evan groaned as she woke up, and rolled over on the uncomfortable bed. She opened her eyes, and came face to face with Meg, sleeping soundly. Evan recoiled, as she smelt the alcohol on Meg's breath. It was then, that Evan became aware of her surroundings and the hazy events of the previous night hit her. She sat up, too quickly, and felt her stomach protest. She made a grab for the garbage can on the floor beside her and forcefully puked into it. She fell back on the bed, dizzy and queasy. She closed her eyes and groaned in protest to the additional shooting pains in her head, when someone sat beside her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Melinda starring down at her. 

"Good morning sunshine." Mel said as she carefully climbed over Evan, and lay down beside her. They lay in reflective silence, with Meg snoring lightly beside them.

"Quite a night you had there Ev." Mel said a few moments later. Evan looked over at her, not know what to say. Melinda smiled. "I'm not mad. At least, not anymore."

"Oh."

"Yeah, I figure that you'll hear enough of it from your mum." Evan sat up quickly in panic and looked over at Mel open mouthed. Mel pushed her back down to the bed.

"Don't sit up, you'll made yourself sick. Your mum figured it out what happened when Noah and I talked to her last night."

"Is…is she mad?"

"I don't really know." Melinda turned over so she could look Evan straight in the eyes. "Why'd you do it Evan?"

"Do what?"

"Well, how much do you remember?" Evan looked at Mel warily. "You might as well tell me, I can pretty much figure out what happened…"

"Well, uhh...I remember the drinking. And taking bottles away from Meg." Melinda smiled a little. "Then…" Evan trailed off looking guiltily at Mel.

"Then?" Mel asked gently. "I promise I won't judge." Off Evan's still hesitant look, Mel continued. "Evan, it's me. The screw-up kid. You can't shock me, I've seen everything you can see with this type of stuff …"

"I blazed up in the room with London. Then we…uh…"

"Tried to have sex?" Mel asked as Evan nodded shyly.

"That's all I remember...well, I sort of remember Noah yelling in the car. It's foggy."

"Okay, then back to my question. Why'd you do all that? What are you trying to prove?"

"I'm not trying to prove anything. I just, I don't know." Evan said as she rolled over away from Mel. Mel sighed and realized that Evan was closing up. This is what Noah was talking about when he said that she was trying to push everyone away.

"Evan, I know that you don't want to talk, but you have to…" Mel looked at Evan's motionless back. "Evan." She still didn't respond. "Evan, talk to me please." Still nothing. Meg closed her eyes in frustration. She didn't know how to do this. She wasn't supposed to be doing this. She didn't care for people. She didn't worry. She didn't talk through problems. She didn't stop people from drinking, or having sex. She wasn't a big sister, she was just Mel, a kid who liked to party.

* * *

Noah sat in the locker room, and attempted to move his shoulder slightly. He gritted his teeth, determined not to scream out in pain. His shoulder was slowly turning blue, and he could feel the swelling throughout his arm and back already. He struggled to put his shirt back on and jerked up as a junior competitive swimmer walked around the corner. He noticed Noah's pained expression and looked at him worriedly. 

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Noah replied irritably. He couldn't afford anyone realizing he was injured. Noah would just go home, ice it, take Tylenol, and then come back to practice healed.

"Coach wanted me to tell you that you need to go talk to him." Noah tried to smile at his friend as he disappeared back around the corner, but failed miserably. Noah grabbed his bag and made his way into the tiny office, located in the far end of the pool. Noah often wondered if the office was just an old maintenance closet.

"Noah." His coach said as he looked up from the paperwork covering his desk. "Sit down, I have some good news for you." Noah obeyed and sat, careful not to move his shoulder. "The national team scouts that were at your last meet took a great interest in you. As you know, they've been watching you for a while, but this is the first time they've actually come forward. Come this weekend, they'll be suggesting that you be put on the national team." Noah looked at his coach in awe. This is what he'd been waiting for. This was why he got up everyday at 5 in the morning. This is why he passed up sleepovers as a kid. This was why he'd been on a diet for the last 8 years. This was what he'd sacrificed his life for.

"I…don't know what to say."

"You say that you'll do it, that'll you'll join the national team Noah. You'll say that you're going to live in the pool from now on, and that you'll practice every free moment you've got. You say that you'll go to the Olympics. You say yes, son." The coach stood up and gave him a congratulatory hug, and Noah winced as his coach made contact with him.

"Congratulations Turner. See you this afternoon at practice." Noah nodded weakly and walked out the office, feeling sick to his stomach.

* * *

Mel made her way back into the kitchen, and placed her dirty mug in the sink. She felt bad that she didn't have any food to offer, but neither Mel nor Phil had the time or energy or money in their lives to go grocery shopping. It was one of many things Mel reminded herself that they needed to start, so that they could be the best parents possible. She sighed and looked out the tiny window, being unable to shake the awful feeling that came with being rejected by Evan. The chime of the clock reminded Mel that she had less than an hour to get Meg up and decent looking. Although Melinda could see the considerable changes that had occurred in Meg over the last 4 years, lying asleep with her hair uncombed and the sheets tangled up in her legs, Meg looked just like the little girl Mel remembered. She gently reached out and shook Meg awake. 

"Ow…ow ow ow. My head. Oh, I don't feel so good." Meg muttered as she opened her eyes, and then quickly shut them again. Melinda reached down and grabbed the empty bucket, readying herself for any unexpected vomiting Meg might do. "Good lord, what happened?" Meg said as she covered her eyes with her hands. After a moment, she peaked through her fingers to block out the light, looking around in confusion.

"You were drunk." Mel said simply, trying not to laugh at Meg's distress over feeling her first hangover. Meg opened her eyes wide in shock.

"I was?"

"Were you ever..." Mel opened the drawer beside the bed, grabbing her own personal lifesaving supply of Advil and thrust two into Meg's hands. She then reached over and grabbed the flask of Jack Daniels from Phil's supply and held it out to her sister.

"Are you kidding me? I'm not drinking ever again. EVER again." Meg said as she pushed the bottle away. Even thinking about it completely turned her stomach.

"Relax already. Just take a mouthful, I promise it will help." Mel said holding it out again. Meg looked at her doubtfully as she took at sip. The alcohol quickly burned her throat, and she coughed heavily in response.

"Not a drinker then, eh?" Mel asked as she watched Meg in amusement.

"No. Not at all." Meg handed the bottle back to her sister, swallowing the Advil dry. "Where's Evan?" Meg asked not wanting to be alone with Mel. Mel scanned the room, hovering on the empty space by the window, where Evan was sitting a minute ago.

"Shit."

"What?" Meg looked at her sister with concern and confusion. A vague recollection of various conversations with Evan from last night came to her mind. Meg smiled in realization; Evan had finally opened up to her.

"Damn it. She must be with London."

"London's here?" Meg asked in surprise. She tried to sort through her memories of how she got to Mel's place. Very little came to mind.

"Yes, he passed out before we could get him home. Evan didn't know where he lived…" Mel said as she tried to lean back on her chair so she could see into the bedroom. "Fuck." She muttered as she realized that the door was now closed.

"What?" Meg asked again, getting worried by her sister's unusually anxious behaviour.

"They're in there alone…"

"So?"

"So? She's only 16, and alone with an older guy, a guy who I caught her almost having sex yesterday."

"Almost? That's not what I remember." Meg said quickly, grimacing at Melinda's glare. "What?"

"Are you serious? She's sleeping with him? I can't believe her. I'm going to go in there and…" Mel stood up quickly and took off towards the door.

"Mel. Stop." Meg called out as Melinda reached the door and halted with her hand on the door. After a moment, she slowly turned around dropping her hand to her side and met Meg's confused gaze.

"What's gotten into you?" Meg asked with raised eyebrows.

"I don't know. It's just that I don't want her, or you, making the mistakes I made. I couldn't stand to see you go through what I went through." Meg stared at her sister in shock. Was she for real?

"Since when do you care about protecting us?" Meg asked, and then regretted it as she noticed her sister's hurt expression.

"I've always cared about protecting you Meg. You're my little sister." Mel said as she reached out to tuck a stray piece of hair behind Meg's ear. Meg pushed her hand away. "Meg?" Melinda asked in bewilderment. "Meg, come on, talk to me…"

"Why should I talk? Why should I talk to you? The one person who walked out my life, and never turned back. Maybe mum forgives you. Maybe you can squeeze your way back into the family, and have them all forget everything, but I won't. I will never forget Mel. How can you stand there and chid Evan on sleeping with someone at 16, when you did it at 13? How can you stand there and try to tell me what to do? What gives you the right to claim protection over me? Since when do you even care about me?" Meg whispered as she dissolved into tears. Following her instincts, Mel moved in to wrap her arms around Meg, but was swiftly pushed away. She stood back for another second until the heartbroken sobs of Meg compelled her to grab onto her sister as tightly as humanly possible. For a split second Meg tried to squirm out of Mel's grip, but soon gave up and fell back into Melinda's arms.

* * *

Evan sat crossed legged, watching London sleep peacefully. He was lying on his back; arms sprawled out at his sides. The gel in his hair from the night before had melted, leaving his hair wild and soft. His shirt was lifted up, exposing his toned stomach. She smiled slightly as he whimpered and rolled over onto his side. She gradually moved in beside him and lay down on her stomach, pressing her face up to his. His nose twitched cutely as he begun to awaken from his deep sleep. She gently kissed his lips and his eyes fluttered open. He slowly took in his surroundings, and then smiled as she kissed him again. 

"Hi."

"Hi."

"You look amazing." He whispered as he ran his hand across her stomach, Evan shivered in response. "Where are we?" London asked groggily sitting up and looking around at the small room.

"My cousin's place." Evan replied still in her position on the floor.

"Is this cousin going to walk in here anytime soon?" London asked as he bent down and kissed her, one thing on his mind. She rolled over on top of him, straddling his hips.

"Not that I know of."

* * *

"I'm so sorry Meg." Mel said as she allowed Meg to lean up against her. Meg was tired and hungover, but felt more refreshed than she had in a very long time. 

"Don't be. It was my fault, I'm sorry I yelled at you. I don't really feel that way…" Meg closed her eyes and sighed.

"No, you do feel that way otherwise you wouldn't say it. Believe it or not, I know you, and I know that you say what you mean."

"Okay. So, how do I make it up to you then?" Meg asked as she turned and looked into her sister's worn face.

"You don't. We call it even and start right back from the beginning. We get to know each other again. And, I treat you like an equal, not as my kid sister. Deal?"

"Deal." Melinda wrapped her arms around Meg and rested her chin on her head.

* * *

Meg's arms, resting protectively across Evan's shoulders was more reassuring than anything that either of them could have said. They were sitting on the kitchen counter, drinking coffee in an attempt to defog their minds, and ease their headaches. Across the room, London was lying on the couch in the living room, asleep, while Mel was having a smoke on the balcony. 

"What did you and London do when you were in the room alone?" Meg asked as she sipped her coffee. Evan reddened, and Meg raised her eyebrows. "You really did?" Evan nodded with a slight smile. "Wow. And here I thought Mel was being paranoid."

"She thought that we were having sex?"

"Yeah."

"Was she mad?" Evan asked eyeing Mel on the balcony. Evan pushed her craving for a cigarette aside.

"In the beginning. It was weird; she went all motherly on you. She was honestly about to knock the door down and attack London." Evan gulped.

"She was?"

"Yeah, but I talked her out of it. She made a promise to me to stop with the protector stuff. I don't really believe her, but I think I like her protecting us." Meg paused watching her sister. "She's never done that before."

"Sure she has. She used to do it all the time when we were kids, remember? That Billy kid from across the street kicked you and she beat him up." Evan said as she jumped off the counter and walked over to the coffee machine.

"I remember she got suspended for a week because of it." Meg muttered as she looked over at Evan, concentrating on pouring the steaming hot coffee into the tiny mugs. "Mel's worried about you. She got all freaked out when you didn't talk to her this morning. I tried to explain that it's just the way you handle everything, but she didn't really believe me. You think you could talk to her, just to tell her that you're okay? I usually wouldn't ask, hell, usually I wouldn't care, but she really seems genuinely worried."

"I'll do my best." Evan took in Meg's eyes, obviously red from crying. "So you guys talked?"

"Yeah. It was really…different. But I don't know Ev, I still can't get rid of the voice at the back of my head telling me that she'll leave again. She's always had a life very separate from mine, why should things change now?"

"Because you both want them to change. Mel wants to be back with her family, and you're her family. She wouldn't have agreed to go out with your mum and she wouldn't have come to your rescue last night if she didn't want to. Nothing was forcing her. And as for you, you're ready to have her back in your life again. You'll probably fight it at first, by instinct, but I have a feeling that Mel will be around for good this time."

"How do you know all that?" Meg asked in confusion. What Evan had just said touched something deep inside of her. Evan knew things Meg hadn't told anyone.

"Because you told me a bunch of things last night," Evan pursed her lips and smiled. "You probably don't remember."

"I said stuff? What did I say?" Meg asked frantically.

"Unfortunately, nothing of great blackmail potential. I actually don't remember all of it myself. I do however remember you telling me about Dave…"

Meg blushed and looked up at Evan. "Oh. Dave."

"So…"

"So what?"

"What are you going to do about it?" Evan nudged her cousin playfully.

"Nothing. Guys never like me, there's no point in trying…"

"What do you mean they don't like you? Of course they do. Plus, Dave isn't just a guy. He's your friend."

"Lab partner." Meg corrected.

"Same difference."

"I'm not so sure about that."

"Well I am. Ask him to a movie."

"But that's so cliché."

"Then think of something else to do. But ask him. You'll never know until you try, right?" Evan gave her a look.

"I guess you're right."

"Of course I am."

"I'm not sure I like you this confident."

"Well get used to it Jekyll, you created your Hyde." Evan said with an evil grin.

* * *

Evan gulped as a loud knock on the door shattered the comfortable silence in the apartment. London tensed beside her, and she automatically grabbed his hand for support. They shared a look, before he knowingly stood up and walked off to the side of the room, leaving Meg and Evan alone in front of the door. 

"Just open it. You can't fight the inevitable." Mel said, as she joined them from the other room. Meg hesitantly stepped forward, knowing that Evan wouldn't want to be the first one to face her mother, and pulled the door open.

"Hi." Paige said calmly. Meg stepped back unsure of Paige, and felt Evan's presence behind her. At least they were in it together.

"Come in." Mel said as she self-consciously ushered Paige into the apartment,. Although Mel hadn't seen Paige in years, she still felt compelled to convince Paige that she'd changed. Paige looked at Evan and Meg with a blank expression, not knowing what she was going to say or do. She had been rehearsing things to say in the ride over, but her prepared speech seemed so empty and trivial when she looked down their anxious faces. Angry words and threats from the past and her own parents floated around in her head, but Paige held back, knowing that they would do no good. But what exactly was she supposed to say to them? How could she show them how upset she was, and how little sleep she got last night worrying over them? What would it take for them to understand that this wasn't a game? She wanted nothing more to scream her head off at them, whilst holding them close just to make sure they wouldn't disappear on her. She wanted to forget it happened. She wanted it to go away.

"Uh." Mel cleared her throat as she touched Paige on the shoulder, lost in thought. "Could I talk to you for a second?" Paige nodded and silently followed Meg out onto the balcony, refusing to look at Evan or Meg. Mel carefully shut the screen door, creating a sound barrier between them and inside of the apartment. As their eyes met in mutual understanding, Mel instantly understood that the relationship between them had never changed. The time spent apart was immense, but their memories and parallel personalities would bind them forever together. "Are…are you okay?" Mel asked timidly, still not being used to the supportive role she felt obliged to undertake.

"No." Paige sniffed and wiped a single tear from her eye. "But there's not much I can do about it." Paige sighed and sat back against the wall.

"I'm not really sure what to say…" Mel said as she joined Paige against the wall.

"You don't have to say anything hun. I'm sorry you got put in the middle of this."

"I've had it coming for years. I mean, the past always catches up with you, right?"

"Yeah, I guess it does." Paige went quiet, lost in her thoughts again as Mel checked on Meg and Evan through the glass door. "What are they doing?" Paige asked a moment later. It pleased her to see Mel talking the protective role for the first time in a very long time.

"Nothing much. Just sitting and talking. They both look terrified." Mel added with a slight smile.

"I never though there'd be a day where someone would be afraid of me. Especially not Evan, or Meg." Paige pulled her legs in close to her and rested her chin on her knees. "I don't know what to do Mel. I don't know how to do this. I'm a horrible mother and I'm a horrible aunt."

"You're not a horrible aunt. Not in the slightest. You were my hero, my substitute big sister." Paige gave Mel a weak smile remembering the inside joke they both shared when Mel was growing up.

"Well, maybe I started off good, but it didn't last for long. I left. I wasn't here for you when you went through everything. I wasn't here to watch Meg grow up. I wasn't even really around to watch Evan grow up. And here we are, both of them angry as hell, throwing their lives away."

"I would hardly call one night of fun throwing their lives away." Mel paused, looking over at Paige's miserable face. "You know just like I do that this is minor in comparison to what they could have been doing."

"What…what exactly did they do?" Paige asked knowing the Mel was right, but wanting reassurance.

"Are you sure you want to here this?" Paige nodded and Mel sighed, knowing that she had a responsibility to Paige.

"Meg was completely smashed, and Evan," Mel gulped. "Evan was more high than anything else."

Paige closed her eyes. "I was afraid of that."

Mel starred at Paige, trying to decide whether or not she should tell her about London. "And she…uhh…" Paige opened her eyes and looked at Mel in fear. Thousands of worst-case scenarios filled her mind. "She has a boyfriend. I think." Paige sighed in relief, and then glanced at Mel strangely off her uneasy look. "Why is that a bad thing?"

"It's not. Just keep an eye on them." Mel said trying to sound casual, but not fooling Paige for a second.

"Why? What happened?"

"Nothing much" Paige looked at her doubtfully and Mel swallowed hard. The unfamiliar feeling of responsibility and protectiveness filled Mel yet again and she looked Paige in the eyes. "I just came across them…indisposed."

Paige put her head in her hands emitting a whimper. "Oh god. Tell me she wasn't?" Paige meekly asked.

"Well, no, they weren't. It might have been heading that way, it was hard to tell. Remember, she was really out of it…." Mel said knowing she was doing the right thing. Mel had to stop Evan from becoming like herself. Paige nodded in understanding, and slight relief.

"Who is he?" Paige asked as Mel shifted uncomfortably. Paige gave her a strange look.

"The guy who's sitting beside her on the couch."

"He's here?" Paige asked as she leapt up and tried to peer through the glass door.

"Yeah, he passed out before Noah and I could get him home." Mel said, and then quickly added. "He slept in a completely different room than Evan." Paige nodded, with her eyes still glued on Evan and London sitting on the couch talking nervously. Paige opened her eyes in astonishment and slumped back down beside Melinda.

"He's too old for her." Paige said simply as Melinda looked on in sympathy. "How long has she known him? How did she meet him?" Paige stopped her sudden questions and teared over. "Why didn't she tell me?"

"She was probably going to. As far as I can tell, it's a fairly recent thing. Very recent actually."

"She really hates me." Paige said quietly and Mel felt her heart break. Mel couldn't believe she could care so much about anything. For years she had been numb to everything, and now, after only a day, she was ready to do whatever it took to reunite Evan and Paige.

"She doesn't hate you. You know, I used to say that I that to my mum all the time, and I never meant it. Not once. Even when I was completely intoxicated. Even when it was the hundredth time I'd said it. I never once believed it. And I know for the fact that it's the same way with Evan." Paige looked up at Mel and gave her a smile through her tears.

"Thank you Mel, you have no idea how much that means to me." Mel smiled and both lapsed into a comfortable silence as they contemplated the great task ahead of them.

Evan moved away from London subconsciously as her mother re-entered the room and sat down on the couch across from her. Evan looked down at her shoes, under the questioning glare from Paige. Evan could feel Meg squirming beside her.

"Okay." Paige said suddenly, trying to sound calm and focused. "You all need to relax, I'm not here to shout at you. Yes, I'm very disappointed..." Paige eyes lingered on Evan. "but I'll live. I know that you know it was wrong, and a mistake. I can't make your decisions for you. And as much as I want to protect you and stop you from making more future mistakes, I can't. All I can do is tell you that I love you both dearly, and that I've seen horrible things happen to people like you when they get drunk. Or high. Or have sex." Paige took a deep breath as she watched Evan flinch with the word sex. "I'm not going to ask you to not do it again, it wouldn't be fair, and it wouldn't be realistic. But I am going to say this, if it ever does happen again, any of it, please promise me that you'll be careful and that you'll protect yourselves in whatever ways you can. And that you'll never drink and drive."

"We promise." Meg said quickly. Evan nodded silently beside her, still hesitant to talk to her mother. Yesterday's argument lingered on her mind. Paige couldn't help but notice how close Meg and Evan seemed today, at least one good thing had come from all this.

"Ev. I…need to hear you actually say it out loud. Please."

"I promise." Evan said quietly, avoiding her mother's eyes.

"Thank you." Paige said simply, feeling relieved and hurt at the same time. Meg leaned back on the couch, suddenly feeling rather nauseous. Paige bit her lip as she took in Meg's ruffled state. Piper would surely notice her daughter's pale colour and the dark bags under her eyes. Piper already had more than enough suspicions as it was. "Are you feeling okay Meg?" Paige asked as Meg paled more, if that was even possible. Meg groaned in response as she shot up and sprinted to the bathroom.

"First timer" Mel muttered to Paige as she ran off after her sister.

* * *

"Meg, hun, try to perk up just a little." Paige said as carefully wrapped her arm around Meg's shoulders, afraid that Meg might faint. Meg nodded weakly as they walked into the manor, on the lookout for Piper. 

"Piper! PIPER!" Meg winced at Paige's raised voice. "Sorry." Paige said to Meg quietly, and after a moment of silence throughout the manor, she steered both girls towards the stairs. Paige heard a loud bang in the kitchen and hurriedly pushed Meg and Evan upstairs. "Go. Go. Go." Paige whispered frantically as she saw Piper round the corner and enter the foyer.

"Hey Paige. Back already?" Piper asked as Paige watched Meg disappear up the top of the stairs out the corner of her eye.

"Yeah. Mel's place isn't as far as I first thought." Paige said as she turned to Piper and flashed her a smile. Piper looked suspiciously at Paige, with her red eyes, and shifty behaviour, but soon shrugged it off as Leo orbed in behind them.

"Hi honey." Leo said as he leant down and kissed his wife.

"Hi. " Piper turned back to Paige. "Where are the girls?"

"They went upstairs. Something about doing homework for tomorrow."

"Hm. That's strange. Meg always does her homework before Sunday night. Maybe I'll go up and apologize to her." Piper said as she looked up the stairs.

"No! I mean, I already talked to her about it, and she said she forgave you. She'll probably apologize tonight. She'd had a wild weekend" Paige gulped at her own words. "And probably just didn't have time to do her homework. I would let her be. Besides, Evan and her finally seem to be bonding, and you wouldn't want to interrupt that, would you?" Paige said sweetly, and then broke out into a large grin as Phoebe came waltzing through the front door with a dramatic, attention grabbing sigh, saving her from certain disaster.

* * *

Noah watched the minute hand on the clock move around. He sat back in the lumpy chair and closed his eyes in an attempt to relax. His bandaged shoulder ached with the torture it had been through over the last two hours, underneath his concealing shirt. His head was spinning and his stomach was in knots. Everything inside Noah grounded to a halt as the office door opened and his couch stepped in, scowling at Noah. 

"Turner. You better have a damn good reason for missing practice." Noah looked up into the face of his anger coach and froze. He tried to open his mouth to talk, but nothing came out. He could only sit and stare in fear. "Turner? I'm waiting."

"Coach…I…'m quitting the team." Noah stuttered out, then sat back with tears in his eyes.

"No." Came the simple reply. His coach stared down at Noah, and shook is head. "No, you're not."

"Yes sir, I am. I can't do it anymore. I'm moving…away, and I can't." Noah said trying to sound confident, but failing miserably.

"But why Noah? You have everything…you're so close."

"Because…" Noah paused, and then allowed himself a tiny smile. "Because it doesn't make me happy."

"Happy? Who cares about happy! You work for what you get in life Noah. You've worked, now get what you've always wanted."

"But that's where you're wrong. It's what I thought I've always wanted. It's not.

"Well tell me Noah, want do you want?"

"To be free. To move to LA and play music." His coach snorted in response.

"Let me tell you something Noah, you give up now, you'll regret it your entire life. You have everything ahead of you. The national team. Your degree. Give it one year son, just one year. After that, you can do whatever you want."

"One year is one year too many coach. I've been doing this since I was 3. It's all I know. I don't want to be on the national team, I'm done with swimming. I just came to say goodbye, and thank you for everything. You made me into the man I am today, and I'll never forget what you taught me." Noah said as he slowly stood up and offered his good hand out. His coach looked and him and sighed.

"I really don't support you in this Noah, but I guess if it's what you want, then I have to let you do it. I'll be here if you ever change your mind." He grabbed onto Noah's hand and shook it firmly. "Take care of yourself son. Drop by and visit sometime if you want, I'd be glad to see you.

"I will coach, I will." Noah said as he walked towards the door. He slowly opened it, looking out into the chlorine-scented hall, knowing this was the last time he'd ever do it.

"And Noah." His coached yelled out as Noah reached the hall and paused. "You can call me Bill." Noah smiled, and then shut the door softly behind him.

* * *

Evan peaked around the corner, quickly darting out the backdoor to the school, and cautiously moving around to the front field. She made her way over to the empty bleachers, facing the road, and pulled her knees up to her chest. It had been a long day. Too long a day, and she'd had enough. She knew that she'd failed yet another math test, and the English assignment that she'd neglected to do last night was certain to get her in trouble, and quite possibly a detention. She was really quite amazed at how strict Baker High was in comparison to her old school, and how little she could get away with. Evan sigh happily as she reminded herself that she did manage to get away with missing class. Luckily, her mother had given the school their old number, allowing all phone calls to be directed to her dad. Evan knew it was a gamble, but she had a feeling that her father wouldn't be phoning her mum anytime soon. He certainly hadn't phoned over the last two weeks, and she had skipped everyday. She sighed deeply, and then reached into her bag, and pulled out the pack of cigarettes London had bought her. She stuck one in her mouth, and carefully placed the package away safely, out of sight at the bottom of her bag. She lit the cigarette, and sat back watching a late student scamper across the field and into the building. Without meaning to, Evan's thoughts drifted over to her mother. As much as Evan hated to admit it, she was beginning to feel bad about the way she was silently ignoring her mother. Evan still blamed her for ruining her life, but somehow, being here with London and Meg convinced Evan that maybe things weren't as bad as she first assumed.

* * *

Phoebe grunted in frustration as she slowly inched forward on the busy highway. Nothing seemed to be going her way today. Her boss had piled up 3 extra assignments for her to do, and she managed to spill coffee on her new shirt before she even stepped into the office. Phoebe rubbed her temples in an attempt to stop her looming migraine. She sighed knowing she was so far from being home, especially if traffic was moving like this. Phoebe tried to figure out how long it would take to get home and kicked herself mentally when she realized where she was exactly. She was about 3 blocks over from the manor, and if she took the side street off the highway, the one that went right by Baker high, she could be home in no time. She signalled right, and sped off the highway, feeling happy for the first time today.

* * *

Evan leant her head on her hand, as she carefully watched the traffic go by. As stupid as it sounded, Evan was looking for London's car. She had an urge to call him, but knew that he'd be busy at work, or at home recuperating from drinking with his friends last night. Evan was bored already. She wanted to go back to the manor, but she ran the high risk of someone seeing her. Baker High was surrounded by a residential area, void of any shops, or nice parks. Evan sighed again and pulled out her third cigarette and lit it. She knew that she should stop, but couldn't bring herself to do it. She jumped to attention when Phoebe's car sped by and slowed to a halt in front of the school. Evan squinted her eyes and tried to get a look at the license plate, but it was impossible to read from her position on the field. She shrugged and went back to pulling at the grass in front of her, knowing that Phoebe would be at work, and nowhere near this area.

* * *

Phoebe watched Evan from her car, stunned by the cigarette in her hand, and the fact that she was obviously ditching. Phoebe slowly stepped out the car, and silently walked over to the bleachers, tracing the same route that she used to take when she was a student. 

"Hey Evan." Phoebe said as she neared her. Evan looked up at Phoebe in shock, and then instantly dropped her gaze back to the grass she was picking at. Phoebe looked down at her in amusement. "Didn't expect to see me here?"

"Uh, no. I mean, I saw your car, but I didn't think it was you." Evan said meekly as she took a long hard drag of her cigarette, knowing that it may be the last time she got one in a while. Phoebe sat down beside Evan, and looked around at the familiar location.

"You know, when I used to come out to smoke, my friends and I would always pick the trees over there to stand by. It shielded me from the rest of the field, because unlike you, I had to hide from my older sisters." Evan gave Phoebe a tense smile.

"Oh I have to hide from Meg. If she finds out I smoke, she'll probably kill me. She's always ranting and raving about second hand smoke, and lung cancer and all that. She uses all these fancy medical terms too." Evan said as she finished the cigarette and stomped it out. She decided that she might as well be open with Phoebe, she was caught and nothing she did or said would change that.

"Sounds familiar. And I hate to tell you this kid, but it's true."

"Oh I know. And it's not like I smoke a lot. I've just had a shitty day and I had to get away." Evan sighed and looked over at Phoebe, trying to read her reactions to everything. Phoebe calmly met Evan's eyes.

"Well, that's good, I guess. What class do you have now?" Phoebe asked as she checked her watch.

"Biology. I…" Evan hesitated, and then decided honesty was the best policy. "I had this stupid lab due, and I didn't do it. There's no point in me going, I'll just get yelled at. I can hand it in tomorrow instead."

"Okay." Phoebe looked over at Evan and smiled. She stood up and offered her hand out. "Then I'm taking you somewhere." Evan allowed herself to be pulled up, still suspicious of Phoebe's calm demeanour.

"You're not taking me home to my mum, right?" Evan asked as she followed Phoebe back to the car. Phoebe looked over at Evan with a laugh.

"No, I'm not."

* * *

Phoebe wrapped her arm protectively around Evan, as they both looked around. Phoebe was overwhelmed with emotion as she took in the magnificent view of the lake and islands. She hadn't been here, to the camp in years, but it still felt like an open wound. But now, instead of holding the essence of just one person, it held two. 

"This is where my mum, your grandmother was killed by a water demon." Phoebe said as a tear trickled down her cheek. "Prue used to take me here, whenever she wanted to talk to me, and just me. We used to just sit here for hours. She never told anyone else that we came, it was our secret. I haven't been here since she died…" Phoebe said as she wiped the tears off her face, pulling Evan closer to her. "I want to share this place with you Evan. I want to talk to you. It doesn't have to be about your mum, or dad, or anything at all. I just want to hear what you have to say. I want to know who you are."

"I don't even know who I am." Evan whispered as she rested her head on Phoebe's shoulder.

"You'll figure it out hun." Phoebe said as she squeezed Evan a little tighter. "Everybody does eventually."

Evan sighed and both feel into silence as a single bird swooped down into the lake, sending ripples spiralling out across the calm surface. "Did your mum ever tell you what it was like for me growing up?" Phoebe asked a moment later. Evan shook her head and Phoebe continued. "Well, for starters, both my parents were gone. I know you already know some of this, but listen to humour me. My mum died when I was 2 and a half. I've spent most of my life feeling like she abandoned me. I thought that my grandmother raised me out of obligation, as opposed to love. I was the youngest, always left out and forced to grow up before my time. I..." Phoebe paused and gave Evan a small smile. "I was always in trouble. Always. I could never seem to live up to everyone's expectations. In fact, I still don't'." Phoebe looked over at Evan, starring out onto the Lake, lost in thought. "I won't say that I know what you feel like Evan, because I don't. Nobody does. I do however want you to tell me, so I can understand. What's going on in that head of yours?"

"I…" Evan tried to find the words to express the emptiness the consumed her. Nothing came to mind; she looked up at Phoebe blankly.

"It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I just want you to know that I'm here, when you're ready to talk."

"No, I'm ready. It's just really hard for me…I don't talk. That's what I do. I shut up and watch. Silence is my protection, my shield against everything…" Phoebe nodded and sat in encouraging silence while Evan closed her eyes and tried to overcome her pounding heart and shaking hand. "I feel so empty inside." Evan said letting herself go, no longer trying to stop the tears. "I miss my dad. I know he doesn't seem like much to you, and I know you blame him for taking mum away, but I still love him. I want my mum. I know she's there physically, but I want her to care. Everything she does for me doesn't feel real. She hasn't so much as looked at me in years, and all of a sudden she wants to be super mum. I don't trust her, she'll just disappear again." Evan stopped suddenly and pushed herself away from Phoebe. The intense vulnerability of exposing herself overwhelmed Evan, and she buried her head in her hands.

"Evan. Evan, listen to me." Evan didn't respond. She covered her ears and shut her eyes trying to block out the world. "Evan!" Phoebe said forcefully as she pulled Evan's hands away and moved her head so she was looking Phoebe in the eyes. "Don't do this. You can't do this alone, let me help you." Evan shut her eyes again.

"No. I've managed to survive alone. I'm fine; I don't need your help. I've tackled more than you would ever know." Phoebe looked at Evan strangely.

"Tackled what Evan?"

"Nothing. It's not important. Forget I said it, I didn't mean it."

"Evan, I need you to tell me if something happened to you. It is important, very important." Phoebe said trying to stay calm.

"I didn't mean something bad. I wasn't raped or anything like that. I just mean that I've managed to deal with everything that's happened to me so far." Evan said suddenly, the last thing she needed was for Phoebe to panic.

"Are you sure that nothing bad happened?" Phoebe asked watching Evan's eyes for the slightest indication that she was lying.

"Yes, I'm sure." Phoebe let out a sigh of relief, but only a small one.

"Okay. I believe you. But, just because something horrible hasn't happen to you, doesn't mean that you don't need to talk. Everyone needs someone to talk to. It's hard, I know that. I am the same way Evan. I keep everything inside of me, I hate to burden anyone. I don't like to cry in front of people. I don't like to talk about my problems. But you know what, I make myself do it, and I feel better after I do. I completely break down and cry my heart out. It's the hardest thing a person can do, but the rewards far outweigh the risks." Evan looked at Phoebe warily. "Trust me Evan, I won't hurt you. Anything you say stays between us."

"I'm a failure. I'm not who anyone thinks I am. I'm not a good daughter, not that mum deserves it, but still." Evan held up hand up as Phoebe went to open her mouth. "No, don't try to convince me otherwise. I know I'm not. I'm not who I want to be, but I'm beyond caring. I've stopped caring about anything." Evan stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, I'm beginning to care about Meg, and London." Phoebe looked at her questioningly. "My boyfriend." Evan smiled as she thought about it. They had never really established that they were going "out", but Evan knew how he felt about her, and her about him. Phoebe smiled at Evan. "I'm not sure why I'm telling you all this, it doesn't really mean anything. But if you want to know who I am, this is it. I'm a boring, cold, goalless teenager." Evan said as she sighed and tossed a rock into the lake.

"Hey, you're anything but boring. How many people do you know that can telekinetically throw a demon?"

"3." Evan said simply.

"Grams, Prue and your mum don't count."

"I know, but it's still not enough to make me feel different. Or make me special." Evan said quietly.

"Evan, you're special. You might not see it, but everyone else does. Why do you think so many people care about you?" Phoebe asked as she stood and tried to skip a rock off the surface of the water. She failed miserably.

"Because they have to."

"No one has to do anything they don't want to."

"I guess." Evan said hesitantly. Phoebe sighed knowing the Evan wasn't anywhere near convinced, but decided to let the subject drop for a while. Evan stood up and grabbed a flat rock of her own.

"So, tell me about London." Phoebe grabbed another rock and tried to skip it again, with the same unsuccessful outcome. Prue used to be able to get at least 4 skips; Phoebe had always admired her for it. She began searching for another rock.

"There's not much to tell." Evan said as she successfully skipped the rock 3 times, Phoebe watching in awe.

"Well, how did you meet him?" Phoebe asked as she tried to skip her own rock again. It bounced right down to the bottom of the lake instantly and she grunted in frustration.

"Hold it on the side and look for a really flat one." Evan said as she showed Phoebe her rock. "We met at a park. Sorta." Phoebe raised her eyebrow at Evan. "Basically he drove by one day, and I climbed into the car with him. Things took off from there."

"You just got into his car?" Phoebe asked in disbelief.

"Yup." Evan looked over at Phoebe's shocked expression. "Don't worry. I sensed that I could trust him. And, I had my powers." Evan said with a shrug.

"Hmm…I'm not so sure about that kiddo. You never know what's going to happen. Just be careful, okay? No more rides with strange boys." Phoebe said seriously.

"I was pretty upset and out of my mind at the time. I wouldn't normally do that." Evan said honestly as she nervously looked at Phoebe.

"Alright, I'll take your word on that. So, what kind of guy is he? Strong and silent? Musician? Jock?"

"I don't know. I've never really thought about it."

"Well, what does he like?" Evan turned slightly red and Phoebe burst out laughing. "Honey, every guy likes that kind of stuff. What else does he like?"

"He has this strange fascination with motorcycles. Umm…" Evan racked her brain for something suitable to say. London's hobbies were a little on the illegal side. "He likes martial arts. Fighting. Airplanes. Cows, don't ask me why." Evan said with a shrug. Phoebe looked up at Evan in amusement.

"You're into the bad boys eh?" Evan nodded reluctantly, knowing it was absolutely true. "I'm glad to know I'm not the only one."

"You like bad boys?" Evan asked with surprise, and a snicker.

"Hell yeah. Cole, ex-demon, the ultimate bad boy. Every guy I dated was in trouble of some sort." Phoebe paused and smiled. "Prue was a bad guy girl too. But see, your mum and Piper, total good guy girls."

"Meg, she's a good guy girl, I think." Evan said.

"I could see that." Phoebe smiled at Evan. "I was outnumbered there for years, but thanks to you and Melinda, we're finally even." Evan broke out into a grin and went back to skipping her rock. Phoebe tried to copy Evan. Evan demonstrated the way she held the rock once again, and Phoebe tried it. Her first rock sunk instantly, but when she went to do it for the second time, the rock bounced off the water twice. Granted, it was a tiny jump in comparison to Evan's, but Phoebe was ecstatic all the same. She gave Evan a huge smile and picked up another rock.

* * *

Megan ran through the white hospital hall as the machine flat lined. She saw everyone scrambling around in the nurses station, and Meg darted into the room before the approaching nurse noticed her. Meg watched in horror as the cancer ridden little girl frantically grasped for a breath, before falling unconscious. Meg hurried over, and held out her hand on her chest, closing her eyes in concentration. She peaked one eye open and sighed as she saw the comforting blue glow surround the little body. The girl opened her eyes, and Meg pulled back her hand with a smile. 

"Thank-you." The little girl whispered still weak, but very much alive. The door burst open and the paediatric doctor ran in and pushed Meg aside. Meg shrank back and disappeared out into the hallway without anyone noticing, or so she thought. Meg slammed right into Leo as she rounded the corner, and entered the bathroom.

"Dad? What the hell are you doing here?" Meg asked as she tried to calm herself down. Even although Meg had successfully healed 5 patients over the last two weeks, she never lost the heavy adrenaline rush that accompanied such scary situations. "What's wrong?" Meg asked in confusion as Leo starred icily at her.

"We need to talk Meg." Leo said as he held out his hand out. Meg reached out and held on cautiously as they disappeared in a swirl of orbs.

Meg looked around at the white fog surrounding her and gasped in surprise. "You brought me up there? Well, here…" Meg asked as she jumped up and down, trying to figure out what the floor was made of. It looked like a cloud to her. Leo tried to hide his smile, but couldn't. She looked up at him smiling and he sighed.

"Yes, I brought you up here. The elders decided it was time you met them. But, there are some things we have to talk about first…" Leo said as a swinging seat appeared behind them. Leo walked over and sat down, waving Meg over. She hesitantly followed, poking the glowing seat to make sure it was solid, then sat.

"Meg, honey…" Leo trailed off as he took in his almost grown up daughter, starring back at him with identical green eyes. "I know that you got your healing powers, and that you've been saving children at the hospital. The elders know too. And, well, it's not right. You have a lot of responsibility now, especially with healing power and you can't abuse it." Meg looked up at in him in confusion.

"But dad, I didn't abuse my powers. I saved those kids. I saved their lives…"

"I know honey, and your intentions are good, but you know just as well as I do that sometimes death happens, and it happens for a reason." Meg looked down at her feet, and tried to hold back the tears. Leo reached over and wrapped his arms around her. "Meg. It's hard, and it's not fair, but it's just the way it is. You…you can't save everyone. It creates a huge risk of exposure, but more importantly, it changes destiny. Everything happens for a reason, right? Death is no expectation. Look at Paige and Prue." Meg nodded and Leo pulled her closer. "I have my reservations about you becoming a doctor, but your mother's convinced we have to let you do it. If you have the calling, you have the calling; I understand that more than anyone. I won't try to stop you, but you have to consider that you are going to be faced with the everyday challenge of saving lives, magic free. You will have to sit and watch someone endure pain, knowing that you have the power to stop it. You will have to break the news to parents that their only child is dead, knowing that you could have prevented it. The temptation to use your powers will be great." Meg nodded silently. "This will be the hardest thing you will ever do Meg. The elders…" Leo took a deep breath, knowing that Meg would not react kindly to the idea. "The elders are proposing that you remove your whitelighter powers. Not bind, but destroy because the temptation to get them back would still be too great. They hope, that your wiccan powers will remain, but no one is sure. They may be intertwined with your whitelighter half...leaving you powerless and vulnerable." Leo went silent and tried to gauge Meg's reaction. She sat silently lost her own thoughts, processing everything that had been said to her. She titled her head up at her father, tears streaming down her face, silently begging him to tell her why life was so unfair. All she wanted to do was help people. All she dreamed about was becoming a doctor. But her powers were part of who she was. They were her past, her ancestry. "Meg. I know it's a hard decision, but you have to make it. You have to tell the elders your decision. They…They're waiting sweetie. "Leo said trying not to rush Meg but knowing that the Elders were getting impatient. He could feel them calling him. She took a deep breath and knew what she had to do.

"I'll remove my powers." She stated simply and Leo nodded, just nodded. He grabbed onto her tight and orbed her into the great white hall.

The Elders sat at the table and nodded down at Leo who stepped aside, and then turned their attention to Meg standing bravely in the middle of the floor by herself. She shakily held out her hand, and allowed the hooded figure to slice her palm. The red blood dripped down from her open wound, collecting in a puddle on the white floor. Meg gulped as the figure trace a pentagram around her in blood and the 5 Elders rose and clasped hands, each one standing on a point in the pentagram. Each elder locked eyes with the others, silently praying that they were doing the right thing. It pained them to have to destroy the powers of the child of a charmed one and a whitelighter, the most powerful child ever produced, even although she was second born. The destiny of the entire world however, paled in comparison and they knew what had to be done.

"Child, for the last time, are you sure you want to remove your whitelighter powers?" Meg nodded trying to fight the tears. The elders closed their eyes and began reciting terms in a language Leo and Meg couldn't understand. Meg felt twinge erupt through her body and she shut her eyes as the blinding blue orbs surrounded her. Meg cried out as the pain reached a climax and she hit the floor, her world spinning into nothingness.

* * *

Meg slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. She was lying on the living room couch, surrounded by her parents, looking down at her worryingly. "Meg, sweetie? Can you hear me?" Piper said quietly as she stroked the hair out of Meg's eyes. Meg nodded, feeling too weak to talk and looked over at her teary eyed father. One look at his face told her the awful truth she already knew. Her powers were gone. All of them. She was powerless, a normal mortal. She closed her eyes and felt the tears gather at the side of her eyes. "Meg. You did the right thing, I'm so proud of you." Piper whispered as she hugged her sobbing daughter, and grabbed tightly onto the hand of her husband.

* * *

Noah shakily sat down in front of his parents, sitting on the brand new couch they had bought last week. He took a breath to try to steady himself. He ran over his speech in his head and prepared himself for what he was about to say, and what he was about to do to their dreams for him. 

"Mum…Dad…" Noah said as Phoebe gripped Cole's hand in fear. Whatever Noah was saying, it wasn't good. Cole gave Noah and encouraging nod. "Well…it's just that…umm…" Noah stuttered as he looked down at his feet. He couldn't do it. They wouldn't understand. He could hardly understand himself, so how could they understand.

"Just tell us Noah." Cole said interrupting Noah's thoughts. "You can tell us anything…"

"Iquitswimming." Noah mumbled quickly.

"What?" Phoebe asked looking up at Noah in complete confusion.

"I quit…swimming." Noah said quietly but slowly. Phoebe blinked in surprise and Cole stood up in anger.

"WHAT?" Cole said, as he looked Noah up and down. "Why did you do that?"

"Because it…it isn't what I'm supposed to be doing."

"Oh? And what is it that you're supposed to be doing?" Cole said with a patronizing tone. Noah winced and tried to concentrate on the case of his swimming trophies in the corner.

"I'm supposed to be making music. It makes me happy. Look, I know you guys won't understand…but I got a record deal, or a trial one at least, with the band. I'm moving to LA next month, with or without your blessing." Noah said as he bravely meet Cole's eyes. They were alive with anger.

"It damn well won't be without our blessing. This is crazy Noah, absolutely crazy. How can you give up? You're not a quitter; I didn't raise you to be a quitter! You made the national team; it's been your dream since you were 4! Do you know how much effort went into getting you here? How much money?" Cole said as he thumped his fist on the coffee table. Phoebe reached out and grabbed Cole's hand trying to calm him down. Cole pulled out of her grasp.

"I do know, I truly do. And for that I'm eternally grateful. But, you have to understand that swimming… is a part of me, it's who I am…it's all I am. I need to do more, be more. I need to do this, and if I'm wrong or even if I'm not, I won't know unless I try."

"Noah, don't do this. Please, you have so much to lose. What about school?" Phoebe asked as Cole stood up and briskly moved to the window. Noah sighed and looked into Phoebe's eyes.

"I'm going to take some time off, it will always be here if I need to come back, but for now, I want to concentrate on my music." Noah moved his attention to his father turning away from Noah and walking out the room silently. Noah gulped, not once in his entire life had his father ignored him like that.

"You're expecting everything to be like fairytale. It's not. The real world isn't nice, or kind, or fair. You won't make it. It's nothing personal, but it's a hard industry to break into, and LA's a hard place to live in." Phoebe said as she tried to reason with Noah. The tears were streaming down her face and she didn't care in the slightest.

"I know, and I don't expect anything to be easy. I'm willing to work for it, even if it doesn't go anywhere. I…" Noah paused. "I torn the tendons in my shoulder last week. It's a sign; it was what made me realize that my life is based too much upon swimming. So what if I make it to the nationals or even the Olympics, after I peak, what's next? I don't have anything else to do. I need to find that. I want to find it."

"Noah, Leo can heal your shoulder. You can go back. You won't have lost much more than a few seconds off your time. Please, go back." Phoebe whispered and she reached out and touched Noah's shaking hand.

"You're not listening to me. I'm not going back, I'm leaving. I'll always be an orb away. Please understand that…and understand that it's what's best for me, it's what will make me happy."

"I won't ever be able to understand Noah. Your father and I, we love you, and support you, but this is foolish. I ran away to New York Noah when I was your age. It was hard, and I wish I hadn't done it. The world is cold, and corrupt and it just plain sucks. You have everything Noah, and if you do this, you'll never be the same again." With her words lingering in the air, Phoebe stood up, and disappeared into the bedroom to console Cole. In the silence of the familiar living room, Noah sat on the couch alone, wiping one stray tear that had made it's way down his face.

* * *

Evan smiled as she felt London wrap his arms around her from behind. They were both standing on the front steps of the empty manor, while Evan tried to fit her spare key into the door. It wasn't working. She grunted in frustration, then spun around and faced London, a plan in mind. He playfully pinned her up against the door and kissed her. She deepened the kiss, in an attempt to distract him, and slowly moved her hand behind her back. She inconspicuously flicked her wrist, and heard the lock on the other side move. She smiled in victory and pulled back, opening the door for London who looked down in surprise. 

"Wasn't that locked before?"

"Nope. It was open, that's why the key wasn't working…I was locking it." Evan said as she tried to hold back a laugh. London shrugged then reached down and picked Evan up, carrying her inside to the coach, kicking the door closed behind him. Evan giggled in his arms, then listened carefully for a moment, doubling checking to be absolutely sure the manor was empty. Piper and Paige were at work. Leo was out doing whatever he did. Meg was at school, where Evan should have been. London lay down on top of Evan, and she sighed in happiness, feeling his warmth and love surround her. This was by far becoming her favourite feeling. Having him slowly run his soft hand through her hair, and feeling his heart beat against her own. London gently smiled at her lost in thought and kissed her. Evan responded hungrily and instantly began tugging up his shirt.

"Whoa there tiger." London said and Evan stopped, looking up at him in confusion. "Are you sure you want to do this? Here?" London asked resting his chin on her chest. Evan rolled over and pressed herself against London with a fiery kiss. "I'll take that as a yes." London muttered as he slowly inched Evan's shirt over her head. London gave Evan on last hesitant look as he moved to unclasp her bra. She nodded with a little smile and London slowly slipped the straps over her shoulders. London stopped and looked up at Evan, trying to stop his body from shaking. Her simple touch sent his skin alive with fire. This was no ordinary girl, and they had no ordinary connection.

"What's wrong?" Evan asked quietly as she saw his eyes linger on her. London silently held his finger to her lips.

"You're the most amazing person I've ever met…" London muttered as he kissed her gently. Evan responded with a heated kiss as she reached under his shirt and pulled it over his head. She soon fumbled with his belt buckle and slid her hand inside his boxers, instantly halting as blue orbs appeared out the corner of her eye. London looked up at her in confusion until he saw Paige standing behind the couch. London swallowed hard and watched in horror as Piper and Phoebe came into view beside Paige.

"Oh my god." Piper said as she took in the strange boy on her couch, on top of her nearly naked niece. Paige stood motionless, too shocked to even move. Phoebe ran her hand through her hair, knowing that Evan was in trouble, big trouble. Neither London nor Evan moved from their condemning positions on the couch.

"What…what are you doing?" Paige sputtered as she came out of her trance and moved rapidly towards the couple.

"What does it look like?" Evan said as she rolled her eyes and quickly sat up, pulling on her shirt. London snapped out of his daze and hastily pulled up his pants.

"Don't you even take that tone with me Evan!" Paige snapped angrily.

"Who are you?" Piper stuttered out, as she looked London up and down.

"London." Both Paige and Phoebe said at the same time. London nodded feebly, sitting behind Evan for protection. Piper shook her head trying to process everything and decided just to thrust out her hand instead. London froze. "Okay, now we can talk." Piper said simply.

"There's nothing to talk about." Evan said curtly as she ran her hand through her messy hair. She tried to inconspicuously zip up the fly on her pants, but she already knew it was hopeless.

"Oh there is TONS to talk about." Paige said as she glared at Evan. Paige's mind was reeling, she couldn't think straight.

"Paige, I know you need to talk to Evan, but we have to make the potion. The demon won't wait." Phoebe said as she stepped up and grabbed Paige's hand. Paige nodded half-heartedly, still not removing her eyes from Evan. Phoebe managed to pull Paige away and Evan looked up at Piper nervously; losing the confidence she had with her mother.

"Alright. You and I are on book duty. Go grab the Book of Shadows, so I can keep on eye on grabby hands over here." Piper said tersely pointing at London. Evan nodded, and then scampered upstairs quickly.

* * *

"How could she? Have I not taught her anything? Do you think they were going to…you know?" Paige asked all at once, not allowing Phoebe a chance to answer. Phoebe grabbed onto Paige's shoulders and looked her right in the eye. 

"Breathe." Paige took in a small breath, and then started pacing again.

"Do you think she's done it before? What if she's pregnant? How old is he? Is that even legal? Should I get him arrested?"

"Paige!" Phoebe said as she pulled her sister to the chair and forced her to stay down. "You have got to calm down. I promise that we'll talk later, and that you'll be able to ask Evan all those questions…but right now, you need to do the potion. Our lives are depending on it." Paige nodded, then went straight to work pulling out the pots, and rummaging around in the cupboards.

* * *

Piper flipped through the book one eye on the page in front of her, one eye on Evan sitting quietly beside a frozen London. Piper slammed the book in frustration and looked up at Evan, watching Piper fearfully. Piper had no idea where to start with Evan. Piper was more than a little shocked by Evan's behaviour. Piper opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted as the demon appeared on the stairs and whipped a fireball at Evan. Evan TKed it into the wall by instinct, then looked down at her hand in surprise. The demon however wasn't so surprised, and he fired a set of fireballs around in the room in rapid succession. Evan jumped behind the coach and Piper threw out her hands and managed to freeze the fireballs, but not the demon. 

"PHOEBE! PAIGE! How's that potion coming?" Piper yelled in panic as she froze another round of fireballs, and then another. Paige and Phoebe came running through from the kitchen, passing a piece of paper with a spell on it into Piper's free hand. Her other hand was busy freezing the constant chain of fireballs emerging from the Demon's palm. Paige whipped the potion at the demon and the sisters read the spell. The demon screamed out in pain, before erupting into a million pieces. The fireballs sizzled out and the room was silent again. Evan shakily stood up from her hiding position and walked over to her original position beside London.

"Just unfreeze him, and let him leave. Then you can talk all you want" Evan said quietly as she locked eyes with Paige. Piper nodded then flicked her hand out, unfreezing London. He came back to life, then cowered more behind Evan, completely unaware of what happened. Everyone turned to Paige, awaiting her reaction. She took a calm steady breath then turned to London.

"You'll be leaving in a minute. I have some things to say to you first…"

"Mum yo…" Evan trailed off a Paige sent Evan a look. Evan sank back and grabbed onto London's hand, tightly.

"First, no touching." Paige watched intensely as Evan slowly removed her intertwined hand from London's and shifted over to the right. "Alright, that's better. Now, I'm not exactly sure what you're doing here London, but it doesn't look all that great from where I'm standing. I want to make this point perfectly clear; you are not, under any circumstances to have sex with my daughter. She is 16, and naïve. You are…how old are you?" Paige asked as London squirmed.

"20."

"Alright, you're 20, and obviously more experienced that Evan. I don't trust you for one-second London. I know what guys like you are like, and I know what you want." London tried to protest but Paige held out her hand. "You can try to deny it, but after…walking in on you, and then hearing about you at the party, I can't help but feel like my instincts are correct. I will not forbid Evan to see you; I know that it would just blow up in my face. I will however, lay out some ground rules. You are not to be alone with her unaccompanied by an adult. You are not to smoke, drink or do drugs in her presence. You will not see her in school hours, because she will be at school." London nodded weakly, then took her impatient stare as a hint, and silently stood to retrieve his coat.

"I guess I'll be going then." London muttered as he shifted from one foot to the other. Evan look up at him and give him a slight smile. He wanted to respond with a smile of his own, but he knew that Paige was watching him like a hawk.

"I think it would be in your best interest…" Paige said calmly. London nodded, and opened the door silently. Just as he was about to disappear behind it, Paige called out. "And London…" London paused and looked up at her nervously. "If you hurt her, in any way, you will be sorry, I promise you that." Paige said confidently as London disappeared, shutting the door behind him. Paige spun around and looked down at Evan, looking at the floor. Piper and Phoebe slowly crept out the room, giving Paige assuring look as they disappeared into the kitchen.

"I absolutely cannot believe you Evan. I don't know what's going on with you lately, but whatever it is I don't like it. I know that you hate me, and I know that I've never been much of a mother to you, but this is taking it too far. This is serious. This is your life, your future that you're playing around with. Not mine Ev, but yours…" Paige said as she sunk down on the couch, facing Evan.

"Then why can't I live it for myself, and do things that I want to?" Evan angrily asked, she was on the defensive.

"You want to have sex?" Paige asked without a moment's hesitation.

"Yes." Evan said looking her mother straight in the eye. Paige was taken aback with Evan's confident answer.

"Have…have you had sex before?" Paige shakily asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes." Evan said calmly.

"When?"

"Why do you want to know? It's none of your business." Evan snapped as she started to pick at her nails.

"It damn well is my business. You're my daughter, and what you're doing here effects my life as well." Paige tried to take a breath to calm down. She couldn't afford to get into a screaming match with Evan.

"Oh yeah, how?" Evan said as she threw a dirty look at Paige.

"Well Evan, what happens if you get pregnant? Don't you think that I would be effected?" Paige said in control. Her words were accusatory, but her tone wasn't.

"I won't get pregnant."

"And how can you be so sure?"

"Because we use protection mum. Because I'm not stupid…"

"No protection is 100 effective. There's always that chance." Paige paused then looked up. "What kind of protection do you use?" Evan shifted uncomfortably; this conversation was taking a turn for the worst.

"Condoms. And I'm going on the pill soon." Evan answered hesitantly a moment later.

"You are, are you?" Paige questioned in disbelief. The overwhelming feeling of the loss of Evan's innocence hit Paige. She no longer had any control over Evan. She no longer had the power to help her. She was no longer a person Evan wanted to be around. And it hurt.

"Yes, I am." Evan said mimicking Paige's disbelieving tone.

"Ev, you're making a big mistake here. I know you won't believe me, but it's true. You're not ready…"

"Well, I _was_ ready, and I did it, so what you're saying isn't going to make a difference, in the slightest. You can't control me."

"Maybe not, but I can warn you. When I picked you up from the party, I didn't get angry. I let it go. I gave you a chance. I don't want to yell, even now, but dammit Evan, you sure deserve it. You can't just go around skipping school, which is something we'll come back to in a moment, sleeping around with people, doing drugs and drinking." Paige halted briefly and sighed. "And smoking. Don't think I haven't noticed the smell on your clothes. And the school phoned yesterday, after finally figuring out that the number they were using wasn't the manor's number. They informed me that you're failing 3 classes. Failing Evan. You don't fail, you're smarter than that." Evan sat starring defiantly at Paige. "Why are you doing this Ev?" Paige asked softly.

"Because I can…" Evan retaliated as she continued to pick at her nails.

"Can what? Ruin your life? This isn't punishing me…"

"I don't want to punish you. I don't care about you." Evan paused, then looked boldly into Paige's eyes. "I don't care about anything."

"Well you better start caring. I won't tolerate this Evan." Paige stopped with understanding and paused. "Is this an attempt to get attention?"

"No. I don't want your attention." Evan snapped quickly.

"Well it sure doesn't seem like that. " Paige muttered as she dropped her head into her hands. "I don't know what to say or do here." Evan gave Paige no response. "What do I have to do to make you see that you're making a mistake?"

"Nothing. I'm not making mistakes. I'm fine." Evan replied abruptly.

"No, you're not fine. Evan, I was an alcoholic. You know that. That's hereditary. I know it doesn't seem real, or like it would happen, but it does. And it will, if you don't watch yourself. I would know."

"I won't be like you." Evan sighed and looked up at her mother, identifying the pain and sorrow in her eyes. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out about all of this. I know you don't need the extra stress." Evan said simply as she bit her lip.

"Evan, you're never a burden to me. Yes, this is one hell of stress on my life, but I'm glad I found out. I can help Ev. I want to help." Paige tentatively reached out her hand and placed it on top of Evan's little one.

"I know, but I can handle it by myself; I've done it before." Evan said with a shrug. As soon as the words left her mouth, Evan realized her mistake. Why did she say that? Subconsciously Evan knew the answer.

"Before?" Paige raised her eyebrows and starred her daughter down. Evan gulped and fiddled with the bracelet around her wrist.

"Yes, before. I'll only tell you this if you promise not to get mad, and that you'll try to understand that I know what I'm doing here. I…I have experience and I know when everything is too much." Paige nodded and Evan took a breath. "A couple of years ago, I did a lot of stuff I'm not proud off. I used to sneak out, and live a somewhat wild life. I'm pretty sure you can fill in the blanks. I…I fell pretty hard, a lot harder than I am now. I just woke up one day and realized how stupid it all was, and how much I had to live for. I managed to make myself clean again, and I got my life back in order. Well, except for the smoking, I never really did rid myself of that." Paige sat in shock; this is more than she expected. How could Paige have not known this side of her own daughter? "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I have everything under control. I'll get my grades up, all I have to do is go to class, and hand in some assignments. I promise that I'm not going to be drinking or partying anytime soon. It's not really my thing anyway. The smoking, that's harder, and it's something that you might just have to live with. Something I might just have to live with. And London…" Evan sighed, and then looked at her mother pleadingly. "I really like him. We're always careful, no matter what…and I wouldn't do anything I wouldn't want to do. You instilled that in me mum, and I won't ever forget it. I wouldn't expect you to trust him, or like him, but at least trust me.

"I do trust you Evan. I…I love you, and I know that you're a smart kid. I still can't help but feel like this is a mistake, but I am your mother, so my opinions may be slightly biased." Evan gave Paige a small smile. "I support you Evan, in whatever you want to do. And I mean anything. That is, as long as you promise me that you're doing it for you, and not because anyone else. Not to make me mad, not to prove yourself and not because someone else is telling you to."

"It's for me mum."

"Okay." Paige pulled Evan into a hug, tears streaming down her face. "I'll try not to be such a neurotic mother then. I'm reminding myself of my own mother way too much lately." Paige smiled weakly as she wiped the tears off her face. "I don't think I've ever told you this, but I'm glad you're my daughter Evan, I wouldn't want it any other way." Paige said as she held onto Evan tightly. Evan relaxed slightly in Paige's grip, but still hesitated.

"I'm glad you're my mum. Even if I don't show it, I do love you." Evan whispered as Paige gently kissed Evan's head.

"I love you too honey."

"Mum?" Evan asked breaking the silence that had settled around them.

"Hmm?"

"When was your first time?" Evan asked quietly. Paige sighed and looked over at her daughter.

"Hmph. I was wondering if you'd ask that…"

"That's not an answer." Evan said and Paige sighed again.

"14." Paige said looking into Evan's eyes.

"Wow."

"Yeah. I don't regret it, but I do wish I had waited a little bit." Off Evan's amused looked she added, "I actually mean it. That wasn't an attempt to beat the message of delayed sex into you. I don't know, I did it without thinking. It just kind of happened. 14 year old boys aren't know for their romance skills. I always wondered what it would be like if I waited a little bit."

"Well speaking as someone who did wait…it was well worth the wait." Evan said with a little smile.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to hearing that." Evan looked over at her mother with concern, and Paige smiled. "But I'll try. And, 16 isn't a wait."

"Sure it is, you don't know how many guys I had to push off."

"Really?" Paige asked with arched eyebrows. She had no idea that Evan had even had one boyfriend, never mind multiple ones.

"Yeah." Evan looked at Paige; waiting for the reaction she knew was coming. After a moment's silence, Evan continued. "You're not going to ask me who they were?"

"No, I was trying out the whole unprotective mother thing. But, if you're offering to tell…" Paige said trying to hold back a smile.

"Bill. Mark. Devon. Some kid at a school dance."

"That's my girl." Paige said with a proud smile, and Evan laughed.

"Mum?"

"Why do I feel like there's another hard question coming my way?" Paige said with a playful look.

"Because there is…when…" Evan hesitated doubting her mother's unrelenting support. Maybe Evan shouldn't push the trust she had been given.

"What sweetie? You can ask me anything…" Evan took a deep breath and looked her mother in her eyes.

"How do you feel if you love someone?" Paige went quiet for a moment and Evan bit her lip knowing that she had crossed the line. Just as Evan was about to apologize Paige opened he mouth and turned to Evan.

"Well…you feel like your jumping off a cliff, head first, with your arms out. Your stomach is in your throat, and your heart is going a mile a minute. The ground disappears from underneath your feet, and you're thrust off without agreeing. It's absolutely the most terrifying feeling in the world, and yet at the same time, it's the most peaceful."

"Oh." Evan said quietly. She lost herself in her thoughts and Paige smiled to herself.

"Do you love him?"

"I don't know." Evan said with a shrug and Paige smiled in understanding.

"When you do, you'll know. It's just one of those things." Evan nodded and Paige stood up from the couch.

"Okay kiddo, go phone your boyfriend…isn't that weird to say. Go apologize for me, and tell him that I'm not actually an evil bitch." Evan smirked.

"He wouldn't think that …" Evan said as she stood up and made her way towards the phone.

"Were you listening to the things I said?" Paige asked with raised eyebrows.

"Well, maybe just a little bit…"

* * *

Paige walked into the kitchen, feeling more relieved that she had in a very long time. Both Phoebe and Piper looked up at her with concern. Paige sighed and broke out into a little smile. 

"How'd it go?" Phoebe asked cautiously eying Paige's happy attitude.

"Good. We talked. Both of us…and we worked it out."

"Worked what out?"

"Everything really. Her…habits." Phoebe nodded in understand and Paige gave her a thankful smile.

"Habits? What habits?" Piper asked as she noticed the exchanged going on between her sisters.

"Evan's been having a couple of bad weeks. There was a party, drinking, drugs, and she's failing 3 classes. And then, the whole London/sex thing…" Paige said calmly as Piper opened her eyes in surprise.

"She's been doing all that? Evan? Wow, I guess I'm really out the loop…" Piper said with a sigh.

"No, not really. I didn't really piece everything together until today. I was really mad at first, I mean, I know what goes on, and what happens. But now, I don't know, she managed to make me realize that it really isn't so bad."

"What! You're letting her get away with it all?" Piper asked in confusion. Piper looked over at Phoebe, who just shrugged in response.

"Well no, not all of it. She's going to bring up her grades, that's nonnegotiable. But the rest, I can't really stop her from doing. She had a lot to say. I know she's responsible, and smart, and mature enough to make the right decisions. I don't want her doing any of it, but if she has to, I'd rather I knew and that we talked about it." Paige said looking into Piper's eyes.

"I don't mean to question you Paige, but are you sure that's a good idea?" Piper asked hesitantly. Flashbacks of Melinda's teenage years ambushed her and she looked at Paige warily.

"Yes, I'm positive." Paige stated grabbing a cup of coffee from the counter.

"Okay, you know best. I'm happy you figured it out." Piper said giving Paige a small pat on her back. Paige could still tell that Piper had her reservations about Paige's parenting, but she also knew that in not saying anything, Piper was trusting Paige to do the right thing.

"Well, I'm happy for you too. I think you're doing the right thing…I had a talk with her the other day and I definitely think that she can make the right decisions for herself. You raised a good kid." Phoebe said with an assuring nod.

Paige smiled. "I think so too."

"Paige…" Paige looked up at Piper's concerned face a moment later. "Do you know if Meg's doing any of that?"

"What?" Paige squirmed slightly. Phoebe looked up sharply at Paige's squirm.

"Is she doing any of what Evan's been doing?" Piper repeated.

"Uhh…not that I know of." Paige stuttered looking at Phoebe for help.

"She has! What has she been doing? I'll kill her." Piper said as jumped up and started towards Meg's room.

"Hey! Hey!" Phoebe said as she pulled Piper back down to the seat. "Relax. Let Paige tell you before you start freaking." Phoebe turned to Paige. "Tell away …"

"One party. A couple of drinks. Nothing big. I'm almost positive that it was her first time doing anything like that, and I'm positive it will be her last for a very long time." Paige said quickly with a smile.

"How can you be so sure?" Piper asked still standing by the kitchen door, ready to run up to Meg's room.

"Hangover." Paige said with amusement and Phoebe started laughing until Piper glared at her.

"Oh come on Pipe, it's funny. She's 17, it was bound to happen. It's one of those life lessons that are learnt without a mother's influence. And if memory serves right, I remember a certain older, but not eldest sister of mine having the same experience…"

"Hmm." Piper pursed her lips in agitation and glowered at both her smiling sisters. She soon sat down in defeat, sending them each one more glare for good measure, before she cracked a tiny smile of her own.

* * *

"For the last time, are you completely, positively sure about this?" Evan asked as she held the tube above Meg's head. Meg nodded, and then closed her eyes in anticipation of what was coming. Slowly, Evan emptied the tube on Meg's hair, and combed it through. "Okay, It's on, now we wait 20 minutes…starting…now." Evan said as she hit the timer on her watch, and then turned back to the box's instructions. "Then we rinse, then condition, then rinse again, and you're blonde." Evan said with a nod. Meg looked up at her nervously, and Evan tried to give her a reassuring smile. Both girls heard Piper brush her way past the bathroom, and held their breath. Piper had long ago forbid Meg from colouring, highlighting or cutting her hair without permission. In a rather rebellious and jaded mood, Meg had decided upon becoming blonde. Evan had reluctantly agreed to help and now, they sat with their heads out the tiny window trying not to inhale the awful fumes. After a rather long and nerve-racking wait, Evan's alarm went off and Meg made her way over to the sink. Evan slowly rinsed Meg's head, gasping in surprise as she took in the results. 

"Uh oh." Evan muttered.

"What?" Meg's muffled voice could be heard from underneath her wet hair, combed over her face.

"Uhh…Meg…How blonde did you want it?" Evan said slowly as she tried to think of a way to prevent Meg from ever seeing her own hair.

"WHAT? Why…Evan, what's wrong?" Meg said panicked as she sat up and ran to the mirror. Before Evan could stop her, Meg took one look at her white hair and screamed. Seconds later, Piper and Paige came barrelling through the door expecting a demon. Both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Meg's hair.

"What did you do?" Piper asked angrily as reached out touch Meg's white hair.

"I dyed it! Oh my god! What did I do? I can't go out like this! What do I do mum?" Meg asked Piper frantically with tears streaming down her face.

"It…it looks good." Paige added hesitantly as she stepped up behind Meg.

"No it doesn't. I'm not stupid. Or blind. OR BROWN HAIRED!" Meg wailed, as she looked at herself again in the mirror.

"No, but you are blonde…and they say blondes have the most fun…" Evan offered. Meg gave her a glare, and then turned back to Piper.

"Can you go buy hair dye?"

"No…" Piper said but was promptly cut off by Meg.

"Please?" Meg hysterically asked. Piper reached out to hug her daughter.

"Meg..." Piper tried to say but Meg cut Piper off again.

"I'm sorry I did this without your permission, but I'll never ever do it again. I'll always listen to you. I'll do the dishes. I'll finish my laundry. I'll put gas in the car." Meg said as she looked pleadingly at her mother.

"Meg. If you would stop talking for second…" Piper paused as Meg shut her mouth. "I can't take you." Meg opened her mouth again to protest. "Meg! I can't take you because it's 8, and all the stores are closed."

"Oh." Meg replied in disappointment. She paused for a second, then looked up with a smile. "Then can't you orb somewhere else and get some? Different time zone. Different country. Anything?"

"That's personal gain honey." Meg looked sadly at her mother. "Okay, here's what we'll do. I promise that I'll take you to the hairdresser first thing tomorrow…" Piper said as she ran a hand through Meg's white hair. Meg nodded solemnly and hugged her mother harder.

"I promise I'll listen to you from now on." Meg said quietly in Piper's embrace. Piper laughed and gave Meg a small kiss on her forehead.

"Now that's what a mother likes to hear."

* * *

"We're almost there sweetie. You'll love them, and they'll love you. Try not to throw up on Noah; he has puke issues, and it's his going away party after all. Just remember to smile, and do that cute thumb sucking thing you do." Mel muttered as she unbuckled a fussy Madison from her car seat in the backseat. Mel carefully walked up the manor stairs and Maddy clung to her mother tightly. Mel kissed the little girl on her forehead and readjusted the new jeans Madison was sporting. "You ready kid?" Mel asked as Madison cracked a gummy grin and gurgled. "I think you are." Mel said with an assuring nod and rung the doorbell. Mel nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other in anticipation of seeing the entire family. She looked over at her daughter, sucking on her thumb and broke out into a smile. 

"Mel." Leo's voice rung out causing Mel to jump. She had been so busy concentrating on Madison that she hadn't heard the door open. Mel gulped as she looked into the eyes of her father, the father who hated her. "Is that?" Leo asked as he noticed the squirming baby in Mel's arms. Mel nodded silently and held Madison out to Leo. He slowly reached out and took her into his arms. Madison looked up at Leo and slapped him roughly on the nose. Leo smiled and looked up at Mel teary eyed. "She's beautiful Melly. You're beautiful." Leo whispered as he pulled her into the house.

* * *

Evan starred at Meg nervously. Meg slowly reached out to grab Evan's hand and they locked eyes, silently screaming in fear. 

"Okay. Who wants to go first?" The man asked as he looked back and forth between the nervous girls. After neither of them said a word he smiled and pointed at the littler one. Evan gulped and slowly followed him into the backroom.

* * *

Mel stood awkwardly in the hall as she dumped the baby bag and made her way into the living room. Paige and Phoebe immediately swarmed her, pulling her into a hug while cooing at Madison who was squealing in all the excitement. 

"She's amazing Mel." Phoebe whispered as Madison laid her head on Mel's shoulder in shyness. Mel smiled and slowly passed her off to Paige. Madison scrunched up her face and was about to scream for her mother when Mel produced a soother from her back pocket and jammed it in her mouth. Madison instantly quietened down, eyes never leaving her mother's face. Madison soon looked up at Paige, poking her in the face with cubby fingers. Paige smiled.

"Hi Mel." Piper said as she came up behind her daughter and gave her a quick hug. Piper stroked Madison's cheek and looked around in confusion. "I thought Phil was coming." Mel gulped and took a deep breath, willing herself to fight the tears.

"Well…actually, we broke up." Mel smiled sadly. "Well, I guess because we're married we can't just break up. Well, whatever it's called, I'm not going to be with him any longer." Madison started to get fussy in Paige's arms and Paige carefully passed her back to Mel. Mel smiled down at her daughter and gave a sigh. "He can't be around Madison, I won't allow it. And, I need to be with her." Mel gave a small smile to her mother. "I'm taking full custody of her. As of this morning actually. I got all the papers signed, and we came straight here. Didn't we Maddy?" Mel said as she bounced Madison up and down.

"Oh honey, I'm so proud of you." Piper said as she pulled Mel into a hug.

"Don't be proud yet, I still have to raise this little devil, and as far as I can tell, it's not going to be easy." Mel said as she sat down on the couch, propping Madison up with a pillow and letting her sit up right. "She just learned to sit up last week." Mel muttered sadly as Phoebe sat down beside her.

"You're doing the right thing here Mel. You'll be a great mother; in fact you're already a great mother. It might be hard, but I know you can do it." Phoebe said with a reassuring pat to Mel's shoulder. Paige sat down beside Phoebe and gave Mel a nod. Piper moved in and sat down on the arm of the couch.

"And you know that I'll always be here to help you." Piper said grabbing Mel's hand.

"Me too." Paige chimed in.

"Me three." Phoebe said. Before Mel could respond, Madison reached out to touch Mel and toppled over. Mel made a grab for her and pulled her up into her arms. Maddy let out an ear-splitting cry and burst into tears. Mel smiled sheepishly at her mother and aunts and stood up rocking the crying child back and forth. Madison screamed loudly in Mel's ear and she tried to comfort her with soothing words. Nothing seemed to help. Mel sighed, feeling like she was in over her head for the 100th time today. Truthfully, she was scared as hell. She didn't want to admit it to her mother, but she was. She had no idea how to care for a child. She had no place to live. No steady income to support them. She was tempted just to hand Madison back to Phil's mother and leave. Run away to somewhere far away. While lost in her thoughts, Mel failed to notice Madison pacify, and then fall asleep on her shoulder. Piper silently watched Mel's panicked face and smiled sadly. She slowly stood up and walked over to Mel, still rocking the sleeping baby.

"She's asleep." Piper whispered and Mel jumped, jarring Madison awake again. Madison started to whimper again before Piper grabbed her and placed her down on her knee. Madison looked up at Piper in confusion then searched frantically around for her mother.

"Hey Maddy. I'm right here kiddo." Mel said as she dropped to the floor and looked Madison right into eyes. Madison's face lit up with recognition, and Mel saw her little hand reach out towards her. As the tiny hand grasped Mel finger, Mel knew that she wasn't supposed to run anymore, she had somewhere where she belonged. Madison readily went into her mother's arms. "Thank you…for that." Mel said quietly as she turned back to Piper, with Madison silently sucking on her thumb.

"No problem. It's easiest if you distract them…they don't tend to fuss as much. Or at least, you didn't…" Piper said with a small smile. She sighed as she took in Mel's face attempting to cover her worry and defeat. Mel was biting at her nails, a nervous habit Piper instantly recognized. "Mel. I know you're scared, but it'll all work out in the end. Babies are hard and tiring, but you know what? They're resilient. Phoebe wasn't lying when she said you're a great mother." Mel nodded slowly, still very unsure of herself. "You'll do fine sweetheart. She already loves you very much…don't you Maddy." Piper said as she watched Madison poke Mel's ear.

"She's been doing that a lot lately. The poking of people and faces." Mel said as Madison went for Piper's nose.

"It's one of those stages. The understanding of two different people, her mummy, and herself." Piper said with a smile as she let Madison grab a hold of her finger. Maddy gave Piper a huge gummy grin.

"Oh. See, I should know that. I don't know anything mum…" Mel said sadly as she shifted Madison to her other side.

"Mel, there are going to be lots of things you don't know. Kids don't come with manuals. Every one is different. You'll know what to do, just follow your instincts."

"That's easier said than done."

"Yes, but you can do it, I know you can." Mel nodded silently as she watched Madison asleep in her arms. "Where are you staying Mel?" Piper said a moment later.

"I…" Mel trailed off looking at her mother. "I don't know really. I can't go back to the apartment, Phil's liable to show up occasionally. Phil's mother offered for me to stay, but I feel like I'm intruding. Don't worry, okay? I'll find a place…" Mel said quietly as she watched Piper's face for anger or worry.

"That's what I figured. Well, your father and I have been talking…and well, we were wondering if you wanted to move in here. We're going to remodel the basement and turn it into an apartment type of thing. It wouldn't be much, but it would have a bathroom and a bedroom. Our original plan was to give it to Meg, but she's leaving for college soon, so…if you're interested, it's yours." Piper said searching Mel's face. It was a big step, for any of them, but Piper knew that you had to risk some, to win some.

"I…I would love to, if you're sure you want me that is. I'll pay rent and everything." Mel said happily hugging her mother, making sure not to move Madison. Piper smiled at Mel.

"I love you Mel."

"I love you mum."

* * *

Evan looked in the mirror in shock, sticking out her tongue. The little sliver barbell pierced straight through her tongue felt strange in her mouth. It was starting to swell already, but Evan didn't care. She turned to Meg with a huge smile. 

"We did it." Meg said looking down at the bandage around her ankle, which covered a small pentagram tattoo. She still couldn't believe that she had gotten a tattoo. One second she was casually perusing the catalogue, then the next she knew, she was toting what was in the catalogue.

"We did it." Evan repeated in amazement as they made their way to the door of the tattoo and piercing saloon. Although not the dirty or sleaziest of places, the saloon was a street place, that allowed underage piercing and tattoos, much to Evan and Meg's delight.

* * *

"Piper, how far away did they say they were?" Paige asked worriedly as she checked her watch. It was 7:20 and Meg and Evan had mysteriously disappeared mid afternoon before everyone had arrived for Noah's party. Not that it was much of a party. Phoebe and Cole basically refused to talk to Noah. He was leaving for his plane at 10 tonight and Piper, Leo and Paige had all taken a stab at trying to convince them to talk. None of them had budged from their stubborn perspectives. 

"5 minutes." Piper yelled from the kitchen. She started bring out the food and everyone sat down at the table, minus Madison who was sleeping soundly on the living room couch.

"Here's a toast…to Noah and his successes!" Piper said as they all toasted wine. Paige noticed Cole's scowl and sighed.

* * *

Meg hesitated on the manor steps. She looked back at Evan making her way up the driveway and sighed. It was all great and fun getting the tattoo, but Meg was beyond terrified of her mother's reaction. Evan lisped something beside Meg, and Meg turned to her in confusion. Evan's tongue had swollen up 10 times its normal size in the last half hour and she could hardly talk. 

"I swaid owpen teeh doorh" Evan mumbled and Meg looked at her questioningly.

"I think they're going to notice your tongue Ev."

"I telth my mum tonigh. No one witlh noticse." Evan said confidently. Meg shook her head in amusement then pushed the door open. Everyone looked up from the table and smiled as they made their way into the house. Evan wisely kept her mouth shut.

"Sorry we're late. Traffic was bad." Meg muttered as she joined the table, Evan quietly sitting down next to her. Meg accidentally brushed her ankle against the table leg and yelped out in pain. Piper looked at her in suspicion.

"You okay Meg?" Mel asked

"Oh me? Yeah, I'm fine, just fine." Meg said quickly. Noah starred at Meg raising his eyebrows, but Meg shrugged him off.

"I like your highlights. When'd you get them done?" Mel asked, as she looked her sister over.

"Yesterday. It's a long story." Meg said as she ran a hand through her newly reddened hair. Piper, Paige and Evan smirked in amusement. The table soon turned silent as everyone concentrated on eating their food. Meg watched in amusement as Evan tried eating without opening her mouth, and without getting the food stuck around her barbell. Evan glared at Meg's intense stare, and kicked her non-tattooed foot under the table. Meg snickered, and then turned back to her own plate.

"Where did you guys go today?" Piper asked a moment later. Meg gulped and shared a look with Evan.

"Oh, well, first we went to the library…"

"Evan went to a library?" Paige asked incredulously and Evan made a face at her. She opened to her mouth to speak, but quickly shut it after receiving a warning glance from Meg.

"Then we hit the mall. Pretty basic teenage stuff." Meg said with a shrug. Meg couldn't help but notice Noah's amused look from across the table. She mouthed "what" to him, and he just smiled mischievously in response. Mel picked up on the exchange and looked questioningly to Meg, who glared back at Mel, then to Evan biting her lip, and finally then to Noah.

"What's with the starring contest?" Piper asked as Mel, Meg, Evan and Noah looked up to see everyone starring at them. Mel smiled, Noah laughed, Evan looked down at her plate and Meg gulped. "Meg?" Piper asked suddenly picking up of Meg's suspicious behaviour. Piper gave Meg a look and Meg sunk lower into her chair. "Meg…I'm waiting here." Piper said again and Meg looked frantically to Evan, who shook her head in response.

"Evan, what did you do?" Paige asked joining Piper's concerned look. She looked back and forth between Meg and Evan, then up at Piper. Evan slowly turned to her mother and opened her mouth. Paige looked at her in confusion until Evan stuck out her swollen tongue. Paige gasped in surprise, "holy shit."

"That's awesome." Noah said as he looked at Evan's pierced tongue. Evan shrugged and Paige looked at her tongue carefully.

"Didn't that hurt?" Paige asked looking at the size of Evan's tongue.

"Yesh." Evan lisped with a smile.

"Is that even legal?" Paige asked looking at the underside.

"Nosh." Evan said looking warily at her mother.

"Crazy child of mine." Paige said as rolled her eyes and sat back with a smile. Evan broke into a grin, and then practically ran from the table to go get some ice to suck on. Meg grinned as Evan coughed dramatically as she passed Meg by on her way to the kitchen. Meg slowly pulled her leg up onto her chair and noticeably removed the bandage. Piper yelped in surprise as she noticed the black outline of a tattoo on Meg's ankle.

"That better be fake Meg." Piper said angrily staring at it in disgust.

"Oh come on mum, that's awesome." Mel said shooting a grin at her sister.

"What! It's not awesome. It's bad, very very bad." Piper said glaring a Meg.

"Oh, it's awesome Piper. Paige has one, Mel has one and I have one. What's the big deal?" Phoebe said as she winked at Meg.

"But that's different." Piper responded glaring at Phoebe.

"Not really. I like it, it's not too big, or fancy." Paige said as she gave Piper a big smile, and then turned to Meg with a hidden thumbs up.

"Hmm." Piper said in frustration. She glared at her sister's then turned her attention back to Meg, fidgeting nervously on her chair.

"I like it. It's a lot nicer than the one on my shoulder." Noah offered giving Meg a lopsided smile.

"WHAT?" Phoebe yelled as she looked over at Noah. Noah burst out laughing and Piper had to crack a smile. "You have a tattoo?" Phoebe asked as she pulled at his shirt, exposing his bare shoulder.

"No. But wouldn't it be great if I did?" Noah said wiggling his eyebrows at his mum.

"Ugh. That wasn't funny." Phoebe said as she sat back in her seat.

"Not so fun when you're on the receiving side now is it?" Piper asked giving Phoebe an amused look.

Phoebe turned to Meg and shrugged. "Sorry Meg, I tried."

"Thanks anyway." Meg answered as she covered the tattoo back up with the bandage and lowered her foot to the floor.

"I likeh it." Evan lisped as she returned from the kitchen, with a cup of crushed ice in her hand. Meg snickered and Piper sighed.

"Let's see it again Meg." Piper asked a moment later. Meg carefully removed the bandage again, and showed it to her mother. "I guess it's not that bad." Piper said reluctantly as everyone shared a simultaneous victory grin.

* * *

Evan smacked Meg on the back of the head with the wet dishcloth. Meg spun around and Evan stuck out her swollen tongue at Meg. Meg shook her head, and turned back to the sink where she was washing dishes. The two of them had been assigned to dish duty by their mothers. Meg dipped her hand in the lukewarm water, hummed a little tune, then swiftly flicked the water at Evan. Evan squealed as the water completely drenched her. Meg grinned in satisfaction and turned back to the last pile of dishes to wash, on the lookout for Evan's inevitable retaliation attack. 

"How's it coming ladies?" Piper asked as she strolled into the kitchen, interrupting Evan mid-attack. Paige entered the kitchen moments later and Evan grinned evilly, and leaped towards her mother giving her a big hug.

"Ugh! You're wet!" Paige exclaimed as she pushed Evan away. Evan stuck out her tongue again at Paige. The amusement of sticking out her pierced tongue hadn't worn off yet. Paige shook her head, and sat down at the table, inspecting her wet shirt.

"How's the tongue feeling anyway?" Piper asked Evan as she made her way over to sit beside her sister.

"Swollen, but less so that before. I can talk…almost normally now." Evan said as she went back to finishing the dishes.

"Doesn't it hurt?" Paige asked and Evan nodded.

"Here." Paige said as she grabbed the bottle of Tylenol out of the kitchen cupboard and passed it to Evan. Evan slowly swallowed the pills painfully.

"How about you?" Paige asked Meg, holding out the bottle.

"Oh it hurts." Meg said as she grabbed the bottle and popped two pills into her own mouth. Meg turned to her mother seriously and sighed. "Are you sure you're not mad?" Meg asked for the 3rd time. Piper shook her head in amusement.

"Yes, now stop asking. It really isn't that big of a deal. It's your body, you can do what you want." Piper paused. "Within reason."

"Okay." Meg said happily. She sat down next to Piper, and leant against her on the kitchen stool.

"So Evan, why'd you choose the tongue?" Piper asked as she played with Meg's hair.

"I don't know. I've always liked it…and it's inconspicuous enough that I can wear it all the time, for things like job interviews. Plus, it's fun to play with…" Evan said as she too sat down at the table, but sitting slightly away from everyone.

"Uh huh. Well, do you realize what it's usually used for?" Paige said seriously. The implications of such a piercing were not lost on her.

"Well…yes, I think I know what you're thinking of…but that's not why I got it, at all." Evan said shifting uncomfortably.

"Okay, I guess." Paige paused. "You do know what I'm talking about, right?"

Evan looked nervously up at her mother, then to Meg and Piper, silently watching the exchange. "Uhh…blowjobs…" Evan muttered quietly and Paige nodded in relief.

"Okay. Well, at least you know. I'd hate to have to explain that to you..." Paige trailed off.

"Mum, I honestly didn't get it because of that. London doesn't even know, and uhh…we haven't done that." Evan said, as she turned red.

"Oversharing Ev." Meg said as she nudged her cousin.

"Hey missy. There's no such thing as oversharing when it comes to cousins or sisters." Piper said quickly as she pointed at Meg.

"Hmm…I'm not so sure about that." Meg said as she pursed her lips and looked at Evan. Evan grinned wickedly back.

"Well I am. You just wait, you two will learn things about each other that you never knew, and probably never wanted to know." Piper said with a playful smile at Paige.

"Are you trying to say something Piper?" Paige asked giving Piper a mock look of anger.

"Why yes, I am." Piper said with a huge smile.

"You just wait, I'll get you back for that." Paige said as threw the dishtowel sitting on the table at Piper.

Piper ducked quickly and looked at Paige pointedly. "Is that all you got?"

"Nope." Paige muttered as she ran over to Piper, engulfing her in a hug, making sure to rub her wet shirt against her sister. Piper tried to squirm out of Paige's grasp, but Paige held on tight. Evan looked up at Meg mischievously.

"Don't you dare!" Meg squealed as Evan stood up and ran at her cousin.

* * *

Everyone was watching the clock out the corner of their eyes. It was 8:12, 18 minutes until Noah would be on his way to LA. Mel had disappeared long ago to try to get Madison to go to sleep, but every so often a wail or a cry would drift down from upstairs. Meg and Evan sat beside Noah watching an old Seinfield episode while everyone else sat around the dinning room table talking about everything except Noah's departure. Piper glanced tentatively up at Phoebe's saddened face, and sighed knowing what it was like to feel like you were losing a child. 

"Pheebs, just talk to him." Piper said suddenly, completely interrupting the conversation that was taking place. Paige exchanged a cautious look with Piper, and then turned her attention on Phoebe.

"I…I can't Piper. It's too hard. He's losing too much. He's achieved too much." Phoebe sad quietly as she watched Noah.

"Well, maybe that's the problem…he needs to value what he has. Let him go, he'll be back, sooner or later. It's not like he's leaving forever, you can talk to him anytime you want to, and he's really not that far away… he's an adult now, an adult you created." Paige added hesitantly. Phoebe sighed and wiped a tear from her face.

"I know. I know you're both right, but somehow, in my mind, I believe that if I don't say goodbye, he can't leave."

"He's leaving whether you like it or not, just talk to him…you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't." Leo said quietly, to both Phoebe and Cole. Although Cole had remained silent through the entire evening, he had been watching, and listening to everything.

* * *

Mel lay on the bed, utterly exhausted. She had spent the entire two hours trying to calm Madison down and get her to sleep. The child was an insomniac. Whenever Madison went silent, and Mel stood up to leave, she started screaming her head off again. Mel tried diaper changes, bottles, cuddles, stories and singing, but none of them worked. Mel had read in a high school parenting book that a child needed a routine bedtime schedule. Mel promised herself, that come tomorrow, Madison would have a schedule. Mel jerked her attention to the door as Noah slowly wandered into the dark room. 

"Hey." Mel said quietly as she moved over and let him sit down on the bed. Madison was sleeping peacefully in-between them.

"She looks so innocent sleeping there." Noah muttered as he watched her tiny chest rise and fall.

"She maybe looks it, but you didn't have to watch the struggle to get her that way." Mel said with a small smile. Noah sighed and lay back on the bed beside her. "What's wrong Noah?" Mel asked softly.

"Am I doing the right thing here Mel? Or am I just being stupid?" Noah asked looking Mel in the eye.

"Does music make you happy?" Mel asked carefully stroking Maddy's forehead, wrinkled from a dream.

"Yes." Noah answered without hesitation.

"Then yes, you're doing the right thing." Mel said confidently.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because I saw you on that stage. I saw the glint in your eye, I saw you come alive. You have a gift, and if it makes you happy, what do you have to lose?'

"Everything. My degree. My swimming. My parents." Noah said solemnly.

"No, they'll still be there. Perhaps not swimming, but if you were meant to be doing it, you wouldn't have be able to drift this far away from it."

"I guess."

"You'll be fine Noah." Noah smiled at her then sighed nervously. "Noah, life isn't easy, at all, and you'll need all the luck you can get, but if you believe in yourself, and your music you'll get to wherever you're destined to be eventually. It might not be where you expect to end up, but that's what life is all about. Whenever you get sad, or lonely, or you just need someone to talk to, I'm here. Have fun, because that's what this should be about, but at the end of the day, make sure you leave something of substance to come home to." Mel cracked a smile through her tears. "And don't get too famous. I don't want the paparazzi coming around here." Noah smiled tearfully and hugged Mel forcefully.

"Mel, take care of yourself, okay?" Noah said seriously and Mel nodded. "And take care of your little angel." Noah whispered as they shared a long and understanding look before Mel had to turn away to comfort the newly awakened and screaming Madison. Noah slowly stood up and kissed each of the girls on the head, walking out the room with a simple wave.

* * *

Noah slowly made his way over to the couch, where Evan and Mel were watching some cheesy teen movie. Noah sunk down to the couch beside them, and threw his legs over top of them. 

"NOAH!" Meg screeched as his sweaty foot hit her lap. Evan started giggling beside her, and Noah made a face at Meg.

"Meggers, you know you love it." Noah said as he moved touched his foot to her face. Meg forcefully pushed it away, causing Noah to lose his balance and end up on the floor. Meg burst out laughing as Noah stood up dazed and confused.

"Don't mess with Meg." Evan said simply as she grinned at Noah. Noah gave them each a mocking glare before sitting back down on the couch, feet firmly routed to the floor. A moment later Noah slowly moved his attention from the TV on to Meg, and unexpectedly met her eyes, already staring back at him. Meg gave Noah a little smile, with hidden tears in the corner of her eyes. They sat, without a word looking at each other wanting this moment to last forever. Noah meant everything to Meg, he was the one constant person in her life, and now, she was losing him. It was stupid and selfish, but she didn't want him to leave. Although he'd promised a phone call a day, and constant emails, she knew things would never be the same. Meg knew Noah had to go. She knew she had to go within the next year, but it just didn't make anything easier. They were both growing up, and Meg was frantically grasping onto something of their past. But maybe that's all growing up was, losing everything you know? Maybe when you're lost in a world of unfamiliarity, you're officially an adult because you have to admit that you don't have all the answers. You finally understand that nothing lasts forever.

* * *

Noah watched the familiar streets and buildings pass by. Each one held a memory. The atmosphere of Cole's newly bought car was tense. In the front, sat Phoebe and Cole, sitting silently listening to the retro rock play on the radio. All 3 of them hadn't exchanged more than a couple words all week. The shaking of his hand, and the beating of his heart made it impossible for Noah to determine whether he was nervous or excited. 

"Noah." Noah jerked up from his thoughts at his father's voice to see his parents starring at him from the front seat. The car was stopped and the van that would be his new home was sitting in the parking lot in front of him.

* * *

Noah looked out the tiny window at his parents, sitting together on the hood of the car watching him pack his stuff in the van. Noah slammed the storage unit shut, dumped his guitar on the tiny bunk bed, and sighed. 

"Noah? You okay man?" Neil said from beside him. Noah looked up at his friend and shook his head silently. Noah couldn't do it. It was stupid. It was unpractical. It was painful. Neil looked up at him in concern as Noah pushed past him and ran out of the van, towards his parents. They both looked up in surprise as he neared them. He came to halt standing in front of them, silently starring into their faces.

"I…I don't know what to do." Noah said quietly as he looked down at his shoes. Phoebe gave Cole's hand a squeeze. A long awkward silence engulfed the trio.

"You go." Cole said suddenly. Noah and Phoebe looked up at him with surprise. "You go." Cole repeated giving Noah a tiny reassuring smile.

"But…" Noah said as he looked back and forth between his parents.

"No. You go Noah. You try it; you do what you want to do. I still don't think it a good idea, but we can't stop you, we shouldn't stop you. It's an adventure, an adventure that you need to try for yourself. If you stay determined and you work hard, good things will happen to you. The world is rough, but you can handle it son. I'm proud of you, and I wish you the best of luck." Cole held his hand out to Noah and Noah shook it cautiously. Both men turned to Phoebe, trying to gauge her reaction.

"God, I'll miss you honey." Phoebe said as she hugged Noah tightly. "But, I agree with your father, you should go. I know you're scared, but you can do it. You have our blessing, and we'll always be right here, if you need us. Be careful Noah, please, that's all I ask." Phoebe said as she pulled out of the embrace and stepped back from her son, and into her husband's arms. Cole held onto Phoebe tightly and rested his chin on her head as they watched Noah climb onto the van, and drive away until he disappeared into the moonlit horizon.

* * *

Meg sighed as Dave left the room in search of a bathroom. She finally worked up the nerve to ask him to come over and study, and to her disappointment, that's exactly what they did. Meg blew a stray strand of hair off her face in anger and spun around on her chair. Evan peaked her head in the door and looked around in confusion. 

"Where's Davy?" Evan asked as London's head appeared behind hers.

"Don't call him Davy. And he's in the bathroom." Meg said sulkily as Evan walked into the room and sat down onto her bed. London wandered in and seated himself on the chair by the window. Meg smirked at the miserable looks on their faces. Every time they touched each other, it always ended up with both going for each other's mouth instinctively, leaving Evan wincing in pain at the tounge contact.

"Still painful?' Meg asked in amusement.

Evan sighed and London groaned. "Yes." They both said at the same time. Just ask Meg was about to tease more, Dave walked back into the room, stopping in confusion at the two extra people in it. Evan and Meg shared a look, and Evan jumped up grabbing onto London's hand and pulling him out the room.

"Nice and subtle Ev." Meg muttered to herself as Dave sat down on her bed, glancing at the door, shut carefully by Evan.

"They…could have stayed if they wanted." Dave said in confusion as he looked up at Meg. Meg gulped nervously as they locked eyes. She quickly tore hers away, hoping that he hadn't realized all the things that were running over in her head.

"I told them that they had to leave…uh…so we could study, you know." Meg stuttered.

"Oh. Right. Okay, well how about we go over the history? Or do you want to work on the paper?" Dave said as he thumbed through his binder, pulling out both sets of notes.

"Paper sounds good." Meg said. Dave slowly stood and passed her the notes. Their hands touched for a second and Meg's heart fluttered. This was sad. Meg never got hung up on boys. Boys were a distraction she didn't have time for in her life. No, she wouldn't have time for him in her life. She didn't like him; it was just a simple crush. It would go away, in fact, it had already gone. She didn't like him anymore. She smiled faintly at him and read over the notes. Before Meg could even react, Dave kissed her slowly and silently. Meg closed her eyes, feeling the wave of electricity pulse through her body before she regained control of her senses and pulled back, making sure to tear her eyes away from Dave's hurt expression.

"Dave…I can't do this." Meg said as she spun around on her chair and faced the computer, her back to Dave.

"I know. I'm sorry. I…I'll just leave." He said as he stood up and started towards the door.

"No, Dave wait." Meg said quietly as she heard him open the door. He stopped in his tracks, and turned to face her. Meg slowly spun around on the chair and faced him. "I can't do this because I like you to much. That…that kiss was the most amazing of my life. But I'm scared Dave. I don't know how to do this stuff, I don't do this stuff. I always promised my I wouldn't fall for a guy, but…I did. Please, don't go. I will never forgive myself if I let you walk away." Meg said as she looked up at him hesitantly. Dave stood in the doorway beaming ear to ear.

"Okay." Dave said happily as he closed the door again, and moved to sit back down on her bed. She silently moved to sit beside him. He looked up at her hesitantly and slowly moved to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. Meg smiled in response and played with the bracelet around her wrist.

"I like you too." Dave said a moment later, trying to overcome the awkward silence that had engulfed them. Meg smiled a little. "Meg. What do you want here?" Dave asked as silence overcame them again.

"I don't know." Meg said as she shuffled her feet along the carpet.

"I…" Dave faltered as he looked up at Meg. "I know I'm not much. Just a skinny nerd, but I like you. I've been waiting for this for months."

"Dave." Meg reached out to touch his hand. They both smiled for a split second as their hands touched. "I don't want you any other way. I like you, for you. I like the way you're nervous, because I am too. I like that you're a nerd, because I am too. You're the most intellectual, sweet and attractive guy I know. And that's why I want to try things with you." Meg said as she moved over to kiss him on the lips. It was a tiny peck, but it still left both Meg and Dave breathless.

"Really?" Dave asked in disbelief. He moved a little closer to her on the bed and Meg hesitantly leaned onto his shoulder.

"Yes." Meg said quietly as they sat in silence, fingers intertwined.

* * *

"Is London staying for dinner?" Piper asked Paige as she stirred the tomato sauce on the stove. Mel was sitting beside them silently giving Madison her bottle. 

"I don't know, let me go ask." Paige said as she stood up and walked out the kitchen, and into the living room where Evan was leaning on London watching TV. London immediately sat up straight, moving away from Evan as Paige entered the room. Paige pressed her lips together in amusement and in relief. As much as Paige trusted Evan, she still distrusted London. He was still too old for Evan in her eyes, and Paige still had the images of them on the couch together running through her mind.

"Do you want to stay for dinner?" Paige asked London as courteously as she could manage.

"No, that's okay. I should be heading home…" London said apprehensively.

"You sure?" Evan asked looking at him. "Piper makes good food." London shook his head defiantly. "Please?" Evan said with a small pout. London sighed looking at Evan, and then up at Paige, smiling somewhat kindly at him.

"If you're sure I wouldn't be intruding."

"Nope, you won't be." Evan said quickly with a smile. Paige nodded and disappeared back into the kitchen without a word.

"She hates me." London said with a sigh as he moved back towards Evan.

"No, she doesn't."

"Ev, she hates me, and I don't blame her…. considering..." London trailed off sheepishly as Evan moved over so she was sitting in the comfort on his arms. She rested her head on his chest and London ran his hand through her hair.

"She doesn't hate you. Perhaps, dislike, but not hate." Evan said with a small smile. Evan turned to the she was looking London right in the eye. "The important thing is that I like you, and she knows that. Just give her time, once she gets to know you like I know you, she'll like you. I promise." Evan said as she kissed his forehead softly, making sure not to move her tongue in any way. London smiled and sighed, still unconvinced but happy to have Evan in his arms all the same.

* * *

"He's staying." Paige said to Piper casually as she sat down beside Mel, grabbing a magazine sitting on the table, 

"Okay." Piper muttered as she added some more pasta to the pot, lost in thought.

"What's with the cheshire grin?" Mel asked as she noticed the new huge smile on Piper's face.

"Well, I'm just thinking about the fact that we have our teenage daughter's boyfriends, well boyfriend and friend." Piper shook her head in amusement thinking about Meg's constant claims that Dave was just a friend. "…over for dinner, and the fun that we're all going to have."

"Wow, I didn't even realize. This is like the teenage nightmare." Paige said excitedly.

"Oh yes, it is. Shall we crack open the family albums? And the embarrassing childhood stories? And the million intruding and completely inappropriate questions?" Piper asked grabbing a plate out the cupboard.

"Yes." Paige said happily, without a moment's hesitation.

"You two are evil." Mel said as she moved to burp Madison. She couldn't help but smile as she really thought about how much Evan and Meg had gotten themselves into.

"Without a doubt." Paige said as she and Piper shared a delighted smile.

* * *

Meg and Dave appeared from upstairs, not touching, but with noticeable closeness. Evan gave Meg a look, and Meg gave her a tiny smile. Evan grinned in happiness and gave Dave a tiny thumbs up. He blushed in response and Evan laughed loudly, grinning at Meg's threatening glare. Before Evan could say anything, London appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her over to the table and pulled out her chair like a gentlemen. Evan snorted in response and put her feet up on the chair beside her, just as he was about to sit down. Dave and Meg sat down on the other side of the table and watched in amusement as London picked a squealing Evan up and placed her onto the floor, quickly allowing himself the privilege of sitting on her chair. Evan jumped onto his lap without hesitation, and London grunted in pain as she landed on him hard. She looked up at him with a menacing smile and slowly moved in to the left side of his stomach, where she knew he was the most ticklish. He squirmed in response and finally gave up, moving to the other chair, watching as Evan sat down in triumph. London suddenly tensed up in nervousness as Paige and Piper appeared from the kitchen carrying the plates of food. Mel soon followed carrying Madison. Mel made her way over to the old playpen that Piper and her had hauled out the basement this morning, and placed Madison into it. Madison soon busied herself with the multitude of colourful and entertaining toys surrounding her, allowing Mel to sneak away to the table. Evan grabbed onto London's hand in comfort, but he pulled it away, nervously fiddling with the cutlery in front of him. Evan tried to get him to look at her, but he successfully managed to avoid her completely. 

"Dig in." Piper said as she placed the final dish onto the table, sitting down beside Paige. Everyone slowly moved in to grab the food, being careful to be polite and courteous. Once everyone was settled and eating, Leo appeared from the kitchen. Piper looked up in happiness and Leo smiled back at her.

"I didn't think you'd be home." Piper said as Leo sat down beside her, with a plate from the kitchen.

"I had a slow day." Leo said with a smile as he pilled his plate up with food, glancing strangely at the two boys sitting at the table. He suspected the older one sitting beside Evan was London, from the stories Piper had been telling him. He however, was more confused by the blonde one, sitting timidly beside Meg. He gave Piper a questioning glance and she just smiled mischievously at him.

"Uh Dad, this is Dave." Meg said as she looked at her farther nervously.

"Hello Dave." Leo said as he smiled kindly at Dave, looking him over.

"Hi Sir." Dave said hesitantly as he eyed Leo cautiously.

"You don't need to call me sir Dave. Leo will do." Leo said as he shared an amused look with Piper."

"Okay…Leo." Dave said with a tiny smile. Meg grinned beside him and Leo could tell that there was definitely something going on between them. Apparently so could everyone else as various looks were exchanged around the table.

"You're London I suppose?" Leo said a moment later as he turned to face Evan and London, sitting quietly.

"Yes Sir…" London trailed off as he realized his mistake. "Leo." London corrected himself. Leo smiled and marvelled in the power he held over the two nervous boys. Before any more comments could be exchanged, Madison let out a cry and Mel apologetically looked at the table and moved towards the playpen. She picked up Maddy and the child's cries stopped instantly, and were suddenly replaced with a tiny grin.

"Ah. The attention-craving cry." Paige said with a knowing smile as Mel sighed and brought Madison over to the table. Mel firmly routed Madison in her lap, and moving everything in front of her on the table out of grabbing distance. Madison looked around happily, taking in everyone sitting at the table.

"How old is she?" Dave asked hesitantly as he smiled as Madison looked up at his voice.

"6 months." Mel said with a smile. Dave nodded politely and made a comical face at the little baby's stare. Madison gave him a huge smile and giggled. Dave smiled back and Meg inconspicuously grabbed his hand under the table, squeezing it in happiness.

"Go to bed Mel, you look terrible." Piper said as she looked over at Mel, sitting hunched over the table. Meg and Dave had offered to play with Madison in the solarium, allowing Mel a few minutes to herself. Evan and London had disappeared upstairs few moments after Meg's departure. The four remaining adults sat around the dining room table talking.

"No, I'm fine. Just tired." Mel said as she unsuccessfully tried to withhold the cough she was developing. Piper looked over at her in worry.

"Are you sick?"

"No." Mel said quickly, but after Paige, Leo and Piper's unbelieving looks, she sighed. "I might be. It's just a cough and running nose. Nothing big." Mel said with a shrug as she tried to pop herself up to look more alive and awake.

"Mel, honey, go to bed. We'll take care of Madison…" Leo said comfortingly as he held his hand to her forehead. "You're hot."

"Go." Piper commanded as she pointed to the stairs. Mel was sharing a bed with Paige for the next week or so, until Leo could drywall the basement.

"But mum…"

"Nope. You're going to bed. You shouldn't be around Madison like this anyway. She can sleep in our room tonight." Piper said sternly. After a second, Mel sighed and slowly stood.

"Okay. But make sure she gets her bottle before bed."

"I will." Piper said with a smile as Mel nodded sleepily and started to walk away.

"Oh, and remember her blue teddy bear, she likes him. She should be ready to go down at about 8."

"I will." Piper said in amusement as Mel continued towards the stairs.

"And, her Pyjamas are in the green bag, the one beside the crib. She'll need to wear one of those undershirt things, it's cold."

"I will." Piper repeated as Mel started down the stairs.

"And…" Mel started to say but Leo cut her off.

"Mel, sweetie, go to bed. We can handle it." Mel looked up at him and sighed.

"Right. Sorry, it's just habit. I'm not used to not doing it…" Mel said sheepishly.

"I know." Piper said with a smile and Mel gave her a smile back.

"Okay, I'm actually going now. Say goodnight for her for me." Mel said with one last look towards her mum, before she ran up the stairs.

"She really is a mum." Leo said with a proud smile as Mel disappeared around the corner.

"What, are you somehow insinuating that all mothers are overprotective and completely neurotic about their children?" Paige asked Leo with a cheeky grin.

"Yes." Leo stated simply, receiving two separate smacks to his arm, one from each sister.

* * *

Dave moved in and sat beside Meg, tickling Madison sitting on her lap. Meg looked up at him, realizing his presence beside her for the first time, and gave him a smile. Their intense stare was interrupted as Madison smacked Dave's face, in an attempt to get some attention. Dave rubbed his nose, and held his finger out for Madison to grab. Meg laughed and put her free hand on Dave's knee. 

"You're really good with her." Meg said as she watched Madison watch Dave intently. Dave poked Madison's tummy and she giggled.

"I guess. I love babies, I used to babysit all the time." Dave said with a shrug.

"Really? Wow, you never cease to amaze me."

"I wouldn't say that, I have my fair share of unamazing traits." Dave said quietly.

"Hey, don't say that." Meg said seriously as she looked into his eyes. "You are amazing, okay?" Dave didn't say anything and Meg starred at him harder. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Dave muttered as he looked down at Madison, fully wanting to drop the subject. He knew he wasn't good enough for Meg. She just hadn't figured it out yet. She would, and then he'd be alone, just like he always was.

"No, Dave. You are amazing. I…I don't want to scare you, but I think I'm falling in love with you. I've been trying to deny it for a long time. You mean everything to mean. It sounds stupid, I know, but it's true. I knew I loved you when I met you. This, us together, is the most overwhelming feeling I've ever felt. You, you're the most overwhelming feeling I've ever felt. And I want to thank you for that. And, I wish I could show you how amazing you really are, and how damn lucky I am to have you." Meg trailed off as she looked into Dave's stunned face. Meg gulped, and mentally kicked herself for saying everything. She was such a loser, she just scared him off.

"I'm falling in love too..." Dave said suddenly, surprising even himself. Meg looked up at him teary eyed and he starred back at her with a tiny smile.

"Wow." Meg said as she sat back, carefully placing Madison into a sitting position in-between them. Meg looked up at Dave hesitantly, then grabbed onto his hand tightly. "I love you." Meg said with a smile, fully feeling the real effect of those words for the first time in her life.

"I love you too." Dave said with a smile that mirrored Meg's. Madison suddenly smacked Meg hard, and growled. Meg chuckled and moved the fidgety baby to her lap.

"And I love you." Meg said as she tapped Madison on the nose. Madison quickly stuck Meg's finger in her mouth and chewed on it with her gums.

"I think she's trying to tell you that she loves you too." Dave said softly as he placed his arm around them both.

* * *

"The x crosses out the y. See?" London said as he showed Evan how to figure out the lengthy and complicated algebra question. Evan just looked up at him blankly. 

"What?" Evan said as she chewed on her pencil and tried to see where the hell he got the x from.

"The left side, it crosses over, then it cancels out." London tried again. Evan sighed in frustration.

"No, it doesn't."

"Yes." London said.

"It's a letter. A freaking letter. Not a number. Math is with numbers, why is there a letter?" Evan said angrily as she shut the book and sat back on her bed.

"Hey. You can do it, you did the rest. You have two more questions to go." Evan looked at him in disgust. London sighed. "How about I promise you a reward if you finish it." Evan raised her eyebrows.

"What kind of reward?" Evan asked as she sat up and looked back at her math book, contemplating.

"It's a surprise. Now do it." London said as he pointed at her binder. Evan pouted, but did as he asked.

* * *

Piper stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene in front of her. Dave had his arm protectively around Meg, who was holding Madison fast asleep in her arms. They all looked so cute together. Piper cleared her throat attracting the attention of Meg and Dave, who were lost in a conversation. They looked up at her in shock. Meg smiled sheepishly at her mother, and Dave made a move to remove his arm from around Meg. 

"No, stay there. It's okay, I just came to grab Madison…" Piper said as she moved towards Meg and picked up the sleeping baby. Meg kissed Madison softly on the head, and smiled thankfully at her mother as she walked out the room, leaving Dave and Meg alone. Dave looked down at Meg and smiled, as she smiled right back up at him. That was the one thing that Meg loved the most, they could look at each other, and instantly know what the other was thinking. Dave gave Meg a tiny kiss on the lips, then sat back, feeling perfectly contented.

* * *

Evan shut the math book in triumph and turned to face London. "I'm done." Evan said as she moved towards him on the bed. 

"So?" London said casually, looking up from the book he was reading.

"You promised me a reward." Evan responded as she glared at him and moved even closer.

"Oh, right." He reached out and grabbed her hand with a straight face, shaking it. "Congratulations." He said as he pulled his hand back and turned back to his book. Evan looked at him with raised eyebrows and then started to move her hand up his thigh.

"But you promised." Evan said as her hand trailed higher and higher. London tried to keep his concentration on the book. He looked up at her blankly and shrugged. Her irked response forced him to go back to reading the book, in an attempt to suppress a grin. She grunted then slowly rested her hand right where London was weakest.

"You want something?" He asked casually as he looked up from the sentence he had been reading over and over.

"London." Evan whined as she moved on top of him. He lifted the book in the air far above Evan's face in so he could still read it.

"Yes?" London asked never allowing his eyes to stray from the book, and not allowing his concentration to falter. Evan grunted again and lightly trailed her finger down his chest. London remained fixed on his book.

"London!" Evan said in frustration as she rested her chin on his chest and looked straight into his eyes. He slowly moved his gaze down and met her eyes, instantly cracking at her pathetic pout. He broke out into a huge grin and started laughing. Evan glared at him.

"You're so cute, you know that." London said as he dropped the book and kissed her forehead. She went to move in to kiss him, but he held his hand out. "Your tongue, remember?" London said sitting up, moving Evan off him and grabbing his jacket from the chair, and tossing Evan hers. She looked up at him in confusion before he disappeared out the door. Evan slowly put her jacket on, and started to make her way out the room, when Meg appeared in the door.

"Uh, your boyfriend's being weird." Meg said as she too reached for her jacket and followed Evan out the room. They went downstairs where they met London and Dave, standing in the foyer waiting for them.

"What are we doing?" Evan asked London. London smiled mysteriously at them all and disappeared out the front door, pulling out his keys. Meg, Evan and Dave trailed after him sharing one confused look.

"London, what are we doing?" Evan asked as she walked beside London out to his car. Meg and Dave followed, confused but willing to let Evan do the asking. Dave wrapped his arm around Meg again once they sat down in the car, and she smiled up at him.

"I promised you a reward didn't I?" London stated simply to Evan as he pulled out of the driveway.

* * *

"Hey Leo, can I ask you a question?" Paige asked as she sipped her coffee in the kitchen. The two of them were the only ones left downstairs. Mel was asleep, Piper was upstairs putting Madison to bed and all the teenagers had left with London, who had appeared a few minutes pervious and asked Paige and Leo if he could take Evan and Meg out for a drive. Leo had consented, and Paige had hesitantly agreed. 

"Yes, you can." Leo said as he too drank his coffee.

"Okay, well…I'm just wondering…if you're aware that you're spending very little time with your family." Paige said quietly, looking Leo in the eye, hoping that he would understand that it was concern and not judgement that was fuelling her question. Leo sighed and looked up at Paige sadly.

"Yes, I know. I…I really try, but it's so hard. My charges need me, and whether I like it or not, I have a responsibility to them." Leo paused and glanced towards upstairs. "I love my family Paige, you know that. I hate having to come home in the middle of the night, and not being able to talk to Piper about her day. I hate the fact that my daughter has a boyfriend and I didn't even know. I hate that I don't have the time to play with my granddaughter…" Leo said trying to fight the tears. Paige reached out and grabbed onto Leo's hand in reassurance.

"Leo, I'm not saying this to upset you, or to rub it in your face. I…Well, I was thinking that perhaps, I could maybe get come of your charges…" Leo started to open his mouth to protest but Paige continued. "Listen for a second. We could go up to the elders, and tell them that it's just the way it's going to be. I'll take most of your charges, and you can pick up the slack. That way you can be here more often…you can't keep this up Leo, it's killing Piper." Paige said solemnly.

"I…I don't know what to say Paige. Thank you, but what about your life? You have a job, and you have a family of your own."

"I know, but I've been thinking of quitting my job again. It's just not working for me, plus, being a whitelighter is like being a social worker. And Evan…" Paige sighed. "Evan's grown up now, she doesn't need me constantly. It's not like I won't ever be here, we'll split up the responsibility of the charges. I'll be here sometimes, you'll be here others, and it's as simple as that." Paige said confidently. Leo looked at her warily, but soon gave in to her pleading face and gave her a smile.

"Okay, let's do it."

* * *

"Volia!" London announced as he uncovered Evan's eyes and let her take in the empty beach. London shared a look with Dave, who had removed his hands from Meg's eyes at the same time. 

"Wow." Meg muttered as she looked up at the star covered sky, and then at the moonlight sand that stretched on for miles. Evan looked over at London and smiled as he picked her up and placed her on the hood of his car. Dave took the hint and pulled Meg away by her hand for a walk along the beach. Evan and London waved at them as the disappeared into the night.

"Thank you." Evan whispered to London as she lay down on the hood beside him once they were alone. Evan moved closer to London and let him put his arms around her, feeling completely satisfied in the silence, just watching the shooting star streak the sky.

Meg sat down on the beach beside Dave, feeling rather nervous. She wanted to kiss him, but at the same time, she didn't feel like he wanted her too. She looked up at him starring at the sky, and sighed. He turned to her worriedly and searched her face.

"What's wrong?" Dave asked in concern trying to fight the feeling at the pit of his stomach that she was having second thoughts about them.

"I should be asking you that." Meg said quietly as she moved towards him.

"Why?" Dave asked in confusion.

"Well, you just seem distant. And…well, when we were kissing earlier, you kept pulling away…" Meg trailed off looking at Dave's face, illuminated by the moon. Dave gave Meg a tiny nervous smile and turned to look out at the waves.

"Okay, you're going to think that I'm a freak for saying this…but I just don't feel like we should be doing much…physically right now. I'm not talking sex here Meg, I'm talking anything. Kissing, touching…that type of thing. It's just…well, I want to get to know you first. I want you to know that what we have isn't just physical. For me, a relationship is the intellectual, and the spiritual too. It's hard to explain…" Dave paused trying to find the right words. "I want to know what you're thinking. I want to challenge you, and I want you to challenge me. I want those things as well as the physical. I want to get things from you I can't get from anyone else. I can kiss other people, but I won't ever be able to experience a kiss from them, like I would from you if each kiss actually means something. I can talk to other people, but I want each and every word I say to you to be special, and to be something I can only have with you. I want everything we do to mean something. I want each step to feel special, and to feel like it's the most amazing feeling in the world, even if the next step is better. Each and every step will be the best feeling yet, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem. If we rush into anything, we instantly lose that. We won't ever be able to get that thrill of doing something for the first time back." Dave paused and laughed a little to himself. "It's like a fort, it's 10 times more fun to build, then to sit in." He soon turned to look into Meg's eyes. "We…we can't get our firsts back after they happen, let's make every little thing count?" Dave asked as he continued to look at Meg in fear. Meg looked at Dave, tears streaming down her face and gave him a huge hug.

"Yes." Meg muttered with her head buried in his shirt. "…we will."

* * *

one month later 

"You're kidding me, right?" Mel said as she starred open mouthed at her father, standing in front of her, wearing a heavy-duty snowsuit.

"No, I'm not. Go grab your jackets…" Leo said with a smirk as Evan and Meg looked at each other in confusion, then darted away upstairs. Leo turned to look at Piper, sitting casually on the couch with a smile. "You sure you don't want to come?" Leo asked Piper as he sat down beside her. "It'll be fun." Leo tried as he snapped his goggles into place.

"As lovely as it sounds." Piper gave Leo a little kiss. "I need to do the club books, and Mel still isn't at a hundred percent, so she'll need help with Madison. Plus, last time I went skiing I was on my ass the entire time." Leo smiled and stood up as Meg and Evan appeared back in the living room wearing jackets and hats.

"Okay suit yourself." Leo said as he gave Piper a goodbye kiss. "All right, let's go." Leo said as he held his hands out to both girls, who grabbed on somewhat hesitantly still confused as to what was going on. Piper gave them all one last smile, before Leo, Meg and Evan disappeared in a swirl of orbs.

* * *

Meg looked around in awe at the snow-covered landscape. The mountain looming in front of her was huge and she dropped her jaw in recognition. "We're in Switzerland?" Meg asked as she spun and looked at her grinning father. 

"Yes." Leo said simply as he started to walk towards a tiny building at the side of the deserted hill. Evan and Meg followed, still dazed by their surrounds. Leo entered the tiny cottage and held the door open for Evan and Meg, who quickly hurried in. Inside, the walls of the wood cottage were covered in skis, snowboards, boots and sleds.

"Why are we here?" Meg asked as she slowly sat down on the wooden bench in the middle of the room, kicking the snow off her flimsy running shoes. Her heavy fall jacket was no substitute for a winter one and she started to shiver in the cold cabin. Leo passed her a large jacket from the wall and Meg nodded thankfully.

"Well, with the charge swapping that's being happening, I'm officially a part time whitelighter, and today is my day off. And, the elders decided that we deserved a little holiday." Leo said with a smile as Evan and Meg looked at him in shock. "I decided that you guys would probably enjoy a day of snow…seeing as you hardly get to see it. The hill and this cabin are deserted so you have free run of the place. You can use whatever you want from in here, and you can do whatever you want." Leo stood up and walked towards the tiny fridge in the corner of the room and smiled as he opened it. "There's food in here if you want it." Leo said as he turned and faced the gob smacked girls. Meg and Evan slowly turned to look at each other in disbelief, then simultaneously stood up and grabbed a sled each from the wall and started towards the door.

"Aren't you coming?" Meg asked Leo as she opened the door letting a cold gust of wind to blow through the cabin. Leo broke out into a grin and grabbed a sled of his own and followed them out the door.

Evan watched with a sigh as Leo passed Meg a steaming cup of hot chocolate. As fun as the day was, Evan couldn't shake the feeling that she should have her own father here. Meg and Leo had been nothing but inclusive, but Evan still felt out of place. Leo reached over to pass Evan her own cup and Evan gave him a tiny smile. Meg gave Evan a strange look, but Evan just pushed her off with a shake of her head.

* * *

Paige, Piper and Phoebe looked up from their positions on the couch in the living room, in surprise as Meg, Evan and Leo appeared from a swirl of orbs. All three looked exhausted, sore and cold. 

"Hey." Piper said as she smiled at Leo. Leo gave a sideways glance at Evan and Meg, and nodded inconspicuously as he played with the snowball behind his back. All at once, the three of them released their snowballs. Evan's hit Paige, Meg's hit Phoebe and Leo's hit Piper, all on target, and all of the snowballs exploding a the perfect time, causing all three sisters to scream as the cold wet snow covered them. Leo, Evan and Meg grinned in accomplishment, and had a three person high five. Phoebe's alarm soon turned to amusement as she picked the snow off her and started whipping it at Paige beside her. Paige grabbed the excess snow up off the carpet and threw it at Piper, who ducked, then grabbed another pile of snow and dumped it down Meg's back. Leo made a dive behind the couch as Piper inched towards him with a pile of snow, and Evan moved out of the path of Phoebe's incoming snowball. Piper snickered as Meg hopped up and down, trying to shake the snow from underneath her shirt. Amongst the commotion, Melinda came strolling through the front door, stopping immediately as she took in the state of the living room. She looked up at everyone in surprise, and then yelped as she was hit with 6 simultaneous snowballs.

* * *

Evan sat starring at the phone sitting on her bed. She picked it up for the 5th in the last 10 minutes, holding it shakily in her hand. The button seemed to make a thunderous noise as she hit it, and she looked at the door nervously. No one appeared. Evan turned her attention back to her phone as the speed dial activated and she heard the ring tone on the phone. She held the phone up to her ear and bit her lip nervously. 

"Hello." A gruff voice said on the other line, and Evan's eyes teared over. Evan slowly dropped the phone down to her lap, and flipped it off, sighing. She couldn't do it, not after all the progress Evan and her mother had made. Evan slowly stood up, and made her way downstairs, in search of her mother.

* * *

Paige looked up from her laptop as Evan entered the room, and sat down on the bed. Paige looked at her daughter strangely, not failing to notice her teary eyes. 

"Ev, what happened?" Paige asked worriedly as she walked over and sat down beside the silent Evan. "Evan?" Paige said in concern as she wrapped her arm around Evan and Evan leant her head on Paige's shoulder.

"I…I need to ask you something, and I need you to tell me the truth…" Evan said quietly.

"You can ask me anything honey, you know that." Paige said calmly.

"Mum…" Evan paused and closed her eyes, trying to find the courage to ask. "Can I see dad?"

Paige swallowed, hard. "No…you can't." Paige said slowly trying to think of what to say.

"Why?" Evan asked without a moment's hesitation. Paige looked down at Evan blankly.

"I…I can't tell you that Evan. I'm sorry, but I can't."

"You promised you'd tell the truth…" Evan said sadly as she looked up at her mother. It was now Paige who had to close her eyes to find the courage to say what she had to say.

"Evan…" Paige trailed off as she opened her eyes and looked into Evan's hurt face. "I can't do this." Paige said suddenly as she stood up, and walked towards the door. Evan looked up in complete conclusion. Paige turned around, tears streaming down her face. "Stay here….I'll…just stay here for a moment." Paige said quickly as she disappeared, shutting the door swiftly behind her.

* * *

Evan jumped as someone reached out to touch her shoulder. Evan's hearing slowly came back to her from her trance as she tried focused on the face sitting in front of her. 

"Evan? Can you hear me honey?" Piper said as she watched Evan blink and turn her head. Evan nodded slowly, and Piper nervously looked at her. "Okay." Piper said simply as she moved towards Evan on the bed and sat down beside her. Evan looked up at Piper in confusion and then looked at the door.

"Uhh…not that I'm not glad to see you, but why are you here? And where's my mum?" Evan asked slowly noticing Piper's grave face. Piper gulped and gave Evan a little hug.

"Well, honey, you're mum wanted me to tell you some things. Things that she can't tell you herself, but that she wants you to know…" Piper said knowing how vague and evasive her words were. Evan looked at Piper strangely. "Okay, well, you wanted to know why you couldn't see your father, right?" Piper asked as Evan nodded. "Right well…" Piper stopped and looked at Evan's expectant face. "I hate to be the one to tell you this Evan, but your dad is dangerous to be around. For both your mum and you…" Piper trailed off as she saw Evan's face.

"What?" Evan asked in confusion.

"Look, Evan." Piper took a deep breath. "Your dad, he's an alcoholic and abusive…"

"What?" Evan repeated again.

"He beat up your mum…a lot…" Piper said carefully.

"WHAT?" Evan said as she stood up and pushed herself away from Piper. "You're lying!" Evan said as she looked over at Piper, sitting quietly on the bed watching Evan.

"I'm not Evan, I wouldn't lie about something like this, you know that."

"No, it's not true." Evan muttered over and over as she paced the room. Piper reached up to grab Evan's hand, but Evan instantly pulled it away.

"It's true. I've seen it with my own eyes Evan…" Piper tried. Evan instantly stopped pacing and spun around to face Piper. Her expression was one of pure fury, but it was the misery in her eyes that stood out. Evan opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Piper opened her eyes wide in horror as Evan disappeared into a cloud of orbs, and disappeared from the room.

* * *

Evan gasped in shock as she appeared outside London's apartment building. She looked around in confusion, and then watched as the last of her hand appeared from the cloud of orbs. The looked down at herself in confusion but soon shrugged it off, being unable to deal with more than one life altering problem right now. She slowly made her way into the building, and up to the 8th floor, 3rd apartment on the left. Evan hesitantly held her hand up to knock on the door, trying to steady her shaking body. Her entire world was upside down. She didn't know who to believe. Her head told her that her mother wouldn't lie about something as huge as that, but her heart argued that her own father would never hurt anyone. Nothing made sense. Evan's eyes quickly teared over, and she decided she needed London. "Create a fence, so I cannot be sensed." Evan muttered to herself as she leant against the door. It was a horrible spell but Evan knew it would work. She slowly pushed herself up and banged on the door sharply. She waited nervously as she heard the lock on the other side being undone. Bill, London's roommate stuck his head out the door and looked her up and down. 

"Is London here?" Evan asked quickly as she tried to wipe her tears away.

"Uh…no, he's out working." Bill paused as he took in her dissembled state. "Do you want to come in?" Bill asked opening the door to the small dirty apartment. Evan blinked, looking cautiously up at Bill. He smiled kindly at her and Evan nodded, slowly followed him inside.

* * *

Piper flew down the stairs, running straight into the kitchen where Paige was sitting quietly starring at her cup of coffee. She looked up sharply as Piper entered completely panicked. 

"Evan's gone."

"What?" Paige said as she stood up quickly in confusion.

"She orbed out. I don't know where, I don't know how. Oh god." Piper said, as she looked around the kitchen frantically.

"We need to find her." Paige said as she looked up at Piper's crestfallen face. Something must have happened to have Piper this worried, and this upset. Paige wanted to know, but for now, getting Evan back was her number on priority. Paige closed her eyes and tried to sense for Evan. Nothing seemed to come to mind. Paige took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves down; they were probably affecting her sensing ability. Paige closed her eyes again and tried to concentrate on Evan. Nothing. Paige's eyes snapped open in complete panic. "LEO! LEO!" Paige screamed at the top of her lungs. Something wasn't right. Even if she wasn't concentrating fully on Evan, she could still feel a tiny tug, a tug that was missing at the moment. "Leo, god dammit, get down here." Paige said angrily.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked as he orbed in a looked around at the seemingly normal kitchen.

"Evan's gone." Piper said and Leo instantly closed his eyes. The panicked looks of both Piper and Paige were enough to stop him from asking questions, and just get right to sensing. He scrunched his eyes harder after he couldn't feel anything. After one more minute of intense concentration he opened his eyes and looked at them in fear.

"I…I can't sense anything." Leo stuttered in confusion. He would have felt if something had happened to Evan.

"You don't think she's…" Paige said as she paled and sunk down onto a chair. Piper and Leo exchanged a worried look.

"No, don't think like that. She's probably in the underworld, you know that I can't sense her there." Leo said diffidently. Paige nodded weakly and Piper grabbed her hand in reassurance.

"Okay, here's what we do. You and Meg go search around here for here. The school. Friends. London's place. Leo and I will hit the underworld." Paige nodded and Piper gave her hand one more squeeze. "We'll find her."

* * *

Meg swerved into the parking lot and jumped out the car, Paige not far behind her. They ran full speed up the stairs, and skidded to a halt in front of London's door. Paige nodded as she stepped out of view, allowing Meg to stand alone at the door. They knew that if Evan was in there, she would be less that willing to talk, or show herself if Paige was there. Meg knocked on the door loudly. No answer. Meg gave Paige a glance and Paige nodded. Meg tried again, this time knocking louder, and harder. Meg froze as the door swung open and Bill stood there glaring at her. 

"What?" He asked as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Is London there?"

"No." Bill answered gruffly. He scratched his head and looked at her expectantly.

"Where is he?"

"He's working." Meg paused as she looked into the apartment. Bill pulled the door closer to him, blocking off her view.

"Is there anything else I can help you with?" Bill asked brusquely.

"Y…yes. Is Evan there?" Meg asked hesitantly. Meg looked at Bill uneasily as she saw a mask of panic overtake his face.

"No, she's not. Now, I suggest you leave." Bill said as he tried to shut the door. Meg stuck her foot out and the door stopped inches from being closed. Bill glared at her, and Meg glared back.

"Let me see her." Meg said heatedly as she moved towards the door.

"No." Bill said with an evil grin.

"Let me in or else." Meg warned as she bravely forced her face up to his.

"Or else what?" Bill scoffed as he meet Meg's glare.

"Or else Evan's mother will kick your ass." Paige said as she stepped out of the shadows and pushed Meg protectively behind her. Bill straightened up and took in the two women in front of him.

"Look lady, I don't have your daughter in here." Bill said simply as he tried to shut the door again.

"Then, can we come in and wait for London to come home?" Meg asked stepping out from behind Paige.

"He won't be home until late." Bill said uneasily.

"Then we wait." Paige said as she pushed open the door boldly and made her way into the apartment. Bill tried to grab her to haul her out into the hall again, when Paige noticed Evan's sweatshirt lying in the middle of the living room floor.

"EVAN!" Paige screamed as she tried to push Bill off her. "Evan!" Paige tried again. She couldn't hear any noises from any of the rooms, and Paige's world started spinning. If Evan was here, then why couldn't Paige sense her? In one fluid burst, Meg leapt onto Bill's back, and freed Paige from his grasp. Paige looked up at Meg, struggling with Bill and started to run in to help her.

"No, go. Find her…" Meg cried out as Bill took a swing at her. Meg successfully ducked it and kicked Bill in his stomach. Paige hesitated for a second, watching as Bill went down and Meg quickly stood up. "GO!" Meg yelled at Paige, and Paige soon took off into the kitchen. Nothing. Paige raced into the small bedroom, then the one beside it. No indication of Evan's presence. Just as Paige was about to run back into the living room, a door on the left side of the hall attracted her attention. Paige yanked it open and gasped in shock as she found Evan lying on bathroom floor unconscious, with her shirt off. Paige reached down and felt around for a pulse. Although faint, it was still there. Evan's slightly blue lips and motionless chest motivated Paige to grabbed onto her and haul her out the room as fast as possible. Paige reached down to pick Evan up, when she noticed the needle pick on Evan's upper arm. Paige ran her finger over it, instantly understanding what had happened.

"What have you done Evan…" Paige said quietly as she finished picking Evan up, and carried her quickly into the living room. She immediately dropped Evan onto the ground, as she watched Bill tower over Meg.

"You fucking bastard…" Paige cried out as ran at Bill, bringing a vase down onto his head. He crumpled to the ground unconscious and Paige ran over to Meg, horrified at the blood pouring down the side of her face. "Hang on Meg." Paige muttered as she held her hand out over Meg's head in attempt to heal her. Nothing happened. Paige closed her eyes and concentrated again. Still nothing. "LEO!" Paige yelled once, waiting for only a split second for Leo to respond. If Leo was here, and not in the underworld, he would have orbed in before now, and he would have sensed Meg's pain. Paige quickly picked Meg up and carried her over to Evan, lying unconscious on the floor. She grabbed onto both their hands and orbed away.

* * *

"Emily Walker and Megan Halliwell." Melinda said quickly as she held onto Madison tight. The nurse looked up at Melinda's panicked face apologetically as she searched through the database. 

"Mel. Thank god." Paige said as she rushed over from the waiting room and pulled Melinda into a hug. Mel hugged back tightly and looked into Paige's tear stained face.

"What happened?" Mel asked she rocked Madison back and forth. The baby could obviously feel her mother's nervousness and had done nothing but cry ever since Mel had received the phone call from the hospital.

"Evan disappeared, and Meg and I found her with London's roommate. She was unconscious…and…" The tears started to run down Paige's face. "Meg took Bill on while I looked for Evan…I shouldn't have left Meg alone with him." Paige said as she crumbled into a chair, ignoring Mel's arms wrapped around her. Before Mel had a chance to say something, Leo and Piper ran over to them in a panic.

* * *

London strolled through the apartment door, whistling to his walkman. He had had a long day, and was ready to just have a long shower, and then crash in front of the TV. London threw his bag onto the ground and waved happily at Bill sitting on the balcony. Bill waved back, and London walked down the hall and into the bathroom. He halted as he looked at the bracelet lying on the floor. He slowly reached down to pick it up and swallowed nervously as he realized who it belonged to. He ran out of the bathroom, and threw open the screen door, looking at Bill angrily. 

"Where is she?" He asked as he looked down at Bill, and his fat lip.

"Who?" Bill asked calmly as he took another drag of his cigarette.

"Evan. I know she was here. What happened? What did you do to her?" London said as he grabbed Bill by his collar and thrust him up against the wall.

"Hey, I didn't do anything." Bill said as he held his hands up.

"Like hell you didn't. Why was her bracelet on the bathroom floor? She never takes that off Bill, and why is your lip fat?" London tightened his grip on Bill and Bill's face flashed fear. London looked straight into Bill's eyes and noticed his shrunken pupils. London quickly dropped Bill to the floor and took off into the living room, pulling out the box from under the couch, and frantically rummaging through it. Bill appeared at the doorway, watching him in confusion. London pulled out an empty container and looked up at Bill menacingly.

"You better not of touched a fucking hair on her head Bill."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm taking about the empty stash of heroin here. I'm talking about you being fucked out of your mind. I'm talking about how I know that there was enough in here to get two people, maybe even three, sufficiently fucked out of their minds, and that you couldn't have done it all by yourself, because you'd be dead if you did. I'm talking about how you have no friends. I'm talking about how you fucking shot my girlfriend up." London exclaimed angrily as he leap up and charged towards Bill. Bill held out his hands in attempt to push London off, rather unsuccessfully. London took one powerful swing, making instant contact with Bill's left eye with a sickening thud. Bill went to hit him back, but London easily deflected it, and pushed him down to the floor. London soon turned away and ran off towards the bedrooms.

"Evan?" London cried out as he checked all the rooms in the apartment.

"She's not here, her mum came to get her." Bill said calmly as he walked into the kitchen to grab ice for his eye.

"You're dead, you hear me!" London yelled over his shoulder as he ran out the door.

* * *

Phoebe rushed around the manor; grabbing the various objects Mel had instructed her to get on the phone. Phoebe's mind was running on overload. She took one last look around the room and nodded at Cole in satisfaction of the bag they had packed. Cole silently turned off all the lights, and locked the door behind him as they made their way out to the car. Just as Cole started the car, London's car pulled up and London leapt out. 

"Where's Evan?" He panted as he asked through the window.

"Nowhere near you ever again." Cole said angrily as he started to pull out of the driveway. London ran beside the car.

"I swear I didn't have anything to do with this. Is she okay? Oh god." London said as he ran his hand through his hair and tried to hold back his tears. London looked up at Phoebe, ignoring Cole's glare. "Please tell me. Just tell me if she's okay? I love her…" Phoebe looked up into London's hopeful face and nodded solemnly.

"Cole stop. Get in the car London, she's at the hospital." Phoebe said quietly.

* * *

Noah stood by the phone pacing nervously. Mel had phoned him 20 minutes ago informing him that Meg and Evan were in the hospital. No more, no less. He took one more lap around the room, and then looked at the phone, willing it to ring with information. 

"Oh fuck it." Noah angrily muttered a second later, unable to cope with the unknown. "LEO!" Noah paused, hoping that Neil wouldn't hear him screaming. "Leo." Noah said quieter and Leo soon orbed in. No words were exchanged, Leo just held out his hand at the same time Noah went to grab it.

* * *

Paige sat, silently beside Piper lost in her thoughts. Piper had her arm around Paige, hoping that in the very least she was offering some miniscule comfort to her. Phoebe sat across from them, looking on in worry, while Mel paced the room trying to calm Madison down. London was sitting silently in the corner, away from all the commotion, while Cole was out harassing the nurses once again and Leo had disappeared off to somewhere. 

"Noah?" Mel asked in disbelief as he walked out of the elevator and ran towards her. Noah nodded tearfully and gave Mel a tight hug, kissing Madison on the cheek.

"What the hell is going on?" Noah asked as he pulled out the hug and took in his various family members, scattered across the room, all looking more worried and more upset than he had even seen them.

"Evan OD on heroine and Meg got attacked." Mel said quietly, looking up at Piper and Paige sitting silently across the room. Noah looked at her in shocked silence while Mel gave him a solemn nod, and then nudged him over towards Paige, Piper and Phoebe. He carefully walked over to them, still dazed. Piper was the first one to look up and gasp as she looked at him, standing in front of them nervously wearing only his pyjamas. Soon, Phoebe turned around and dropped her jaw. She jumped up and hugged him tightly crying silently. Paige never even looked up, and Piper held her closer.

* * *

Piper slowly moved to lie down on the bed beside Meg, fast asleep. Although everyone said Meg had only sustained minor injuries, it still killed Piper to see her baby like this. Meg's forehead was bandaged, and a cast covered her left wrist. Piper gently stroked Meg's hair out of her eyes. "I love you, you know that?" Piper said as she looked down at her daughter's peaceful face. "Well, I do. You mean everything to me Meg. I know that you don't think you do, and I know that I've spent so much time on Mel, even now, but I love you just the same. You, and you alone bring a smile into my day. I would have given up hope a long time ago if it wasn't for you." Piper sighed as she moved in closer to Meg. "Just be okay, sweetie, I need you." Piper muttered as she rested her head beside Meg's. 

"I need you too." Meg's faint voice creaked out as she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Piper. Piper smiled and kissed Meg's forehead, making sure to avoid the nasty bump that was beginning to form.

"How are you feeling?" Piper asked Meg as she pulled the blanket up tighter around them both.

"Like I'm hungover." Meg replied with a tiny smile. Her smile didn't last long though as she felt pain course through her head. Piper noticed Meg's pained look and hit the buzzer for the nurse. Meg nodded thankfully and lay back in silence, shutting her eyes.

* * *

London looked up sharply as he watched Cole push a man angrily away from Paige. London looked over at Noah, and then Phoebe, and finally to Mel in confusion. They were all starring up at a middle-aged man, fear and anger evident. 

"Mike, get out of here." Paige said as she stood up shakily, pushing Cole out the way.

"No fucking way, my daughter is in the hospital." Mike said as he glared down at Paige angrily. She could smell the alcohol on his breath and she stepped back overcome with fear. Phoebe immediately picked up on this and pulled her sister behind her protectively.

"We'll phone you when we know some information Mike. Leave…" Phoebe said as she gritted her teeth trying to keep her cool. There were certainly a few things Phoebe would like to say to Mike. Phoebe could feel Paige clinging on to her back, and Phoebe sighed knowing that Paige needed her to be strong and calm.

"No." Mike said defiantly as he starred down Phoebe. "She is my daughter, and I can stay if I want to."

"Mike, do you honestly want to do this? You know just as well as I do that one word from anyone of us, and you would be whisked off to jail." Phoebe said confidently as she starred back.

"Don't threaten me bitch." Mike hissed as he moved towards Phoebe.

"Hey, don't talk to my mum like that!" Noah said as he stood up and ran at Mike. Cole reached out and grabbed onto Noah's shirt, hauling him back down into the chair.

"Mike, get out of here. I understand that Evan is your daughter, but you can't be here. Not when Paige is, and not when I am. I would be more than happy to kick your ass, but you know what? You're not worth it. Leave, before I have to make you leave." Cole said as he stepped up, causing Mike to slump down in obvious fear. Cole was by far the bigger, stronger and smarter man of the two and Mike didn't like his chances.

"Leave your cell on, I'll phone you, I promise." Paige said quietly from behind Cole. Mike looked at her, and for a split second love and concern etched their way across his face. However, the reality of the situation soon hit Mike, and his expression turned to anger yet again.

"Fine, but you better watch yourself. I'll be back." Mike said as he walked off and disappeared into the elevator. Paige sunk down to the chair and Phoebe shared a nervous look with Cole, before she sat down beside Paige.

"Paige? Are you okay?" Phoebe asked hesitantly as everyone starred at them. Paige looked up into Phoebe's worried face and nodded silently. Phoebe wrapped her arm around Paige, and smiled sympathetically at London and Noah, both watching in confusion. Even London, having never met Mike before, could tell that there was something off about him, something more than a disgruntled separation with his wife. Evan had never mentioned anything other than Paige and Mike's constant arguments but as London took a look at Paige's face, London knew there was definitely more to the story.

* * *

"And what is your relation to Evan?" The short nurse said as she stood in front of the sealed emergency room doors, looking Paige up and down. 

"Her mother." Paige said curtly as she anxiously looked towards the door.

"And you?" The nurse said as she turned to the young man who suddenly appeared. Paige looked over and met London's miserable eyes.

"He's her brother." Paige said emotionlessly.

"Very well." The nurse said as she pushed through the doors, and lead Paige and London towards the paediatrics unit. "OD?" The nurse questioned a minute later as she halted in front of a curtained off section.

"Huh?" Paige said, distracted by Evan's name written on the chart on the wall.

"Drug overdose?" The woman said impatiently a she gave Paige a slightly judgemental look.

"Not purpos…" Paige trailed off as she stepped in behind the curtain and saw Evan lying on the stretcher, covered in machines. She silently moved towards Evan, grabbing onto her clammy hand and sinking to the chair beside the bed. London stood transfixed at the door, mesmerized by Evan's pale face. He felt sick to his stomach. The nurse gave him a tiny comforting smile, and then disappeared back behind the curtain, leaving Paige and London alone with Evan, and the beeping of the machines.

* * *

"Hey you." Noah said gently as he sat down on the bed beside Meg. She opened her eyes in surprise and looked deep into his eyes. 

"Noah?" Meg asked in disbelief as she sat up and glanced questioningly at Mel, who appeared beside him.

"In the flesh…" Noah said with a tiny smile as he gave Meg a gentle hug. Mel slowly made her way over to the bed and sat down cautiously beside her sister. Meg looked over at Mel, and grabbed onto her hand for comfort.

"Where's Maddy?"

"Outside with Phoebe, she isn't allowed in here." Mel said with a sigh.

"Oh." Meg said pausing, then looking back up into Mel's eyes. "Any word on Evan?" Mel and Noah shared a look, and then carefully turned back to Meg.

"Not yet." Mel muttered as they all went silent, wondering and hoping.

"She's…she's going to be okay, right?" Meg suddenly asked a moment later breaking the silence.

"Yes." Mel said as she moved up the bed and wrapped her arm around Mel. Noah soon joined and Meg rested her head on his shoulder.

"You promise?" Meg asked weakly. Mel looked up at her in concern and gulped.

"I…I can't promise you that Meg, you know that." Meg's face slowly crumbled as the tears made their way down her face. "Hey…it's going to be okay. I'm not saying anything's wrong; I'm just saying that I can't promise you something that I don't know is true. Evan's strong, and she's a fighter. Hospitals have wonder drugs for ODs…trust me." Meg and Noah looked up sharply at Mel's comment and Mel gave them a tiny smile in response. Meg gripped Mel's hand tighter.

"Alright!" Noah said suddenly as he watched Meg retreat back into herself, and her worried thoughts. She looked up at him in confusion. "Let's see this cast of yours…" Noah said as he pulled out a pen from his pocket and lifted up Meg's arm onto his legs. Mel gave him a tiny smile of thanks as she watched Meg's attention drift from Evan to protesting against Noah's horrible artistic drawings defacing her cast.

* * *

"Evan seems to be making excellent recovery, considering the circumstances…" The stubby doctor said, as he looked flipped through the file in his hand. Paige nodded weakly as she looked around the tiny office. She wanted to be with Evan but she knew that London was there with her. "Okay. Now comes the most difficult part of my job." The doctor said seriously as he carefully shut the folder, and placed it down on the desk, looking into Paige's red eyes. He took a deep breath and placed his hands together on the desk. "We need to discuss the possibility that this was a suicide attempt." As Paige opened her mouth to protest, he held up his hand kindly. "I know it may be difficult to comprehend, but you need to take it into consideration." Paige nodded slowly, and sat back into her chair. "Has Evan ever done drugs before?" He asked kindly, knowing the type of emotions such a question evoked in parents. 

"Yes, but nothing as serious as heroin. Her father and I were just recently separated and it's been hard on her…"

"Very understandable. I think we can safely rule out an addiction of any sort, seeing as her reaction is so extreme. She's entered what you would call a mild coma. Just one of the dangerous consequences of heroin I'm afraid. She's been administered naloxone, an antidote to the comatoseic state. I can't really give you an estimate of when she'll wake up, comas are funny like that. It shouldn't be long, for most patients it's 2 to 4 hours." Paige nodded numbly, hearing the word coma repeat over and over in her mind. "Now, I don't want to worry you, but I have to inform you by hospital protocol that she may have sustained brain damage in the 2 minutes or so she lost oxygen completely. The rule of thumb is 4 minutes until sufficient brain damage takes place, but even so, there is always that risk." Paige fiddled with the ring on her finger and looked up at him gravely.

"Over the next 8 hours or so, Evan will be rather sick, and after effect of the drug. Extreme nausea, stomach cramps, muscle spasms and fever. It won't be any easy thing to watch. She has been moved to our paediatric intensive care unit." The doctor trailed off as he reached into his desk and extracted a pamphlet. "Once Evan awakens, our first priority will be to figure out what happened, and what the reasons were. I believe you were the one to find her, is that correct?"

"Yes." Paige answered simply.

"Okay. Well, I received a call from the police about half an hour ago informing me that Bill Ellroy is in their custody. They'll be contacting you soon for statements and all that, but I can usually keep them at bay for a day or so."

"Thank you." Paige mumbled and the doctor nodded politely as he passed the pamphlet to Paige.

"This pamphlet here is just a list of organizations from which you can get help from. Anti-drug organizations, counsellors and support numbers. In situations like these, it is fairly common for the patient to have sustained psychological injuries, either previous to the overdose, or after. I'm sure I don't need to explain to you how a near death experience and an attempted rape can affect a person, especially a young teenager. I don't know what situations Evan has been involved in, but it has obliviously had a large impact on her. I'll be asking you, and her some questions in a little while, and we'll get to the bottom of this, I promise you that."

* * *

"London…" Evan quietly muttered as she yanked the respirator out her mouth and sat up shakily, watching London sitting in a trance on the chair in the corner. He blinked in confusion then slowly turned his attention to her sparkling blue eyes. 

"Ev?" London asked in disbelief as she moved again. Evan nodded and he stood up and quickly threw his arms around her. "I'm so happy you're okay…" London suddenly stopped the embrace and backed away from her. "Are you okay?" He asked seriously as he took in her pale face. Evan nodded as she looked around in confusion.

"What happened?" Evan asked as she noticed London's teary eyes, and Paige's coat in the corner. He slowly climbed onto the bed, lifting her up gently so that she was sitting on his lap. He sighed as she leaned back and rested her head onto his chest.

"What do you remember?" London asked quietly after a moment of silence, holding onto her tightly.

"Bill. The needles. But that's it…how did I end up here?" Evan asked as she went to rip the IV out her hand. London held her hand back.

"Don't touch it." He said as he gripped her hand tightly.

"But it hurts…"

"It's helping you Ev, and right now, you can do with a little help." London released her hand slowly and she nodded silently, moving her hand back to the bed. London looked down at her and sighed. "You passed out and your mum and Meg found you. Bill…he attacked Meg, she's in the hospital too. She's okay, just a little cut up.

"What!" Evan said as she pushed away from him and started to stand up. London easily reached out and pulled her back to the bed. "Evan, she's fine. You'll faint if you stand up, you're too weak." London said as he held her to the bed, afraid she might try to move again. After a moment of silence from them both, he slowly sat back up and lay down beside her, trying move the bed the least possible amount.

"London." Evan said quietly a moment later. London rolled over and looked at her in response. "I'm sorry." Evan said as she tore her eyes away from his and looked up at the ceiling. He reached out to wiped away the tear that hung lightly on her cheek.

"You don't have to apologize…it wasn't your fault." London said quietly stroking her forehead. She weakly pushed his hand away, and closed her eyes tightly.

"It was my fault. I knew better. He asked me, and I said yes. I didn't have to, but I did." Evan opened her eyes and looked over at him. "You should hate me."

"No, you made a mistake but Bill knew better. He gave you far too much, even for a complete junkie. And even still, Evan, I don't hate you…" London hesitated as he searched her white face, and glowing eyes. "…I love you." He whispered kissing her lips lightly.

"I love you too." Evan said as she dissolved into tears, falling into his arms.

* * *

Paige slowly made her away back into the busy treatment room, dodging the various stretchers and their occupants wheeling by. She moved into the small room, jerking her attention to Evan, who looked up from her position in London's arms. Paige ran to Evan's side, and London quickly removed his arm, and stood up off the bed, being careful not move Evan. 

"I'll be…outside." London said quietly looking back and forth between Evan looking silently at the ceiling and Paige moving in to sit on Evan's bed. Paige looked up at London's retreating back and gave him a tiny smile.

"Hi." Paige said turning her attention back to Evan, noticing her red eyes, mirroring Paige's. Evan looked at her silently and Paige tearfully reached down to give her a hug. Evan didn't respond. Paige pulled back and looked down at her daughter carefully. "Evan?" Evan still sat silently and Paige looked at her strangely. "Are…are you okay honey?" Paige asked hesitantly taking in Evan's silence.

"No." Evan said so quiet, it was barley audible to Paige.

"Should I get the doctor?" Paige asked as she stood up quickly and made her way towards the door.

"No." Evan repeated, rolling away from her mother. Paige stopped, and watched Evan's back, in confusion. After a moment, she slowly made her way around to the other side of the bed and dropped down to her knees, so she was at Evan's level.

"What's wrong Ev?" Paige asked as she reached out to Evan in bewilderment. Evan pulled back from Paige's touch and shut her eyes tightly. Paige bit down on her lip and felt her stomach contract in nervousness. "Emily, I'm going to ask you a question…and I need a straight answer." Paige paused watching Evan's face intently. "Did you OD to kill yourself?" Evan jerked open her eyes and searched her mother's face for a moment.

"No." Evan simply stated, before she shut her eyes again.

"Are you lying to me?"

"No." Evan said calmly keeping her eyes closed.

"Then why did you do it?" Paige asked quietly moving closer to the bed. Evan stayed completely silent and still, closing her eyes even tighter. "I need to know Evan. The doctors need to know." Paige said softly as she leaned her chin up on the bed, head beside Evan's. Evan pulled the flimsy white sheet up over her head, protecting herself from Paige's eyes. "Is it because of what Piper told about Dad?" Paige tried. Evan didn't move. Paige sighed and shifted tactics. "Heroin Evan? Do you know you almost died? That your lips were completely blue when I found you? That you were almost raped?" Evan peaked out from under the sheet at the word rape. "Yes, rape. I have never been so scared in my life. The entire family has been sitting outside waiting to hear that you're alive. Right now I'm just glad that you're okay, but Evan, we're going to have to talk about this, whether you want to or not. I…I don't know what to say to you to get you to understand that doing things like this isn't a way to solve your problems." Paige stopped and placed her hand gently on top of Evan's. Evan didn't pull away, nor did she embrace it. "I know that what you were told about your father upsets you." Evan immediately shut her eyes, ripping her hand away, and pulling the sheet back up over her head. "You can't run away from this Evan. I'm ready to tell you everything you want to know. I…" Paige tried to push the pain and tears away, she had to be strong for Evan. "I know that you don't believe me, but your father is an alcoholic, and he…" Paige tried to keep her voice steady. "…hit me." Paige looked towards Evan waiting for a reaction, any reaction. None came. Paige sighed and slowly stood up. "Okay, I'm going to go tell the doctor that you're awake. Think about what I said, I'll be back to talk to you again. And Evan, I'm going to keep talking until you talk..." Paige said as she left Evan's side hesitantly.

* * *

Paige started to trace the familiar root back to Evan's room, when a flash of brown hair and a look of defeat stopped her. Paige silently watched London sitting on the left side on the waiting room, staring off into space. She sighed to herself, watching as he rested his head in his hands and slumped his shoulders in sadness. 

"How are you doing?" Paige asked quietly as she sunk down into the seat beside him automatically. She wasn't really sure what she was going to do. Paige looked into his tired face and eyes, identical to her own. London shrugged in response and dropped his gaze back down to his feet.

"Why don't you head home, it is 3 in the morning…" Paige said gently as she checked her watch.

"Well, if you don't mind, I think I'd rather stay here." London said quickly looking up again. Paige nodded silently. Truthfully, she had been completely unaware of his presence the entire time. He was just there. No more, no less. He cared about Evan, no Paige realized as she watched his face break with emotion, he loved her. Overwhelmed by her sympathy for him, and the tears that were starting to form again, she shifted her attention to the various people in the room. The nurse doing paperwork in the corner. The mother comforting a screaming child. The woman worriedly holding the hand of her pale child. Paige slowly brought her attention back to London, who shrunk under her gaze. "I want to thank you for taking such good care of Evan, London. I know that I haven't been very kind to you, at all…but I was just trying to protect her. I won't lie to you, I still have my reservations about you being with her, but…I see the way she looks at you, and you at her. You make her happy, and especially with everything that's happening, she needs all the happiness she can get. You seem like a responsible and kind boy, and well, I would like it very much if you hung around the house more…and just for the record, I trust you with her." Paige said as she reached out her hand to London, who shook her hand back in response.

"Thank you." London said quietly instantly looking away from her face. "I…I want you know that…the drugs, they're a money making thing for me. I hardly ever do them, and I would never want Evan too…" London stuttered as he scuffled his feet against the linoleum floor.

"Okay. I believe you." Paige said with a genuine smile at London. He gradually looked up at her, and soon gave her a tiny smile of his own.

* * *

"So Noah, how's LA treating you?" Mel asked from her position on the bed, still sandwiched between Meg and Noah. Madison sat contentedly on Meg's lap, after successfully being snuck in by Phoebe, who brought news of Evan's awake and stable state. After much whining and demanding on Meg's part, Phoebe had disappeared to try to get the nurses to allow Meg to go visit Evan. Phoebe had yet to return. 

"It's okay. Not as glamorous as you'd expect, although the studio is pretty damn cool.

"Ohh...you get a studio?" Meg asked perkily from beside him. Colour had returned to her face, and after receiving a couple rounds of painkillers, she was up and moving just fine.

"Well, not our own, but yes, we work in one." Noah said with a smile. "We're releasing a song next week…or so we think."

"Wow." Mel said with a smile as she made faces at Madison, who was gurgling happily. Noah nodded, and then lifted his head up as Phoebe came back in trailing two nurses behind her.

"Can I go see Evan?" Meg asked with a hopeful look. Phoebe nodded and Meg broke out into a grin. She quickly leapt off the bed and started to walk out the room, when someone grabbed her arm.

"Not so fast young lady, you have to go down in a wheelchair." The nurse said as she pulled a burgundy wheelchair into the room, forcing Meg down into it.

* * *

Paige quickly walked into Evan's room, carrying a cup of coffee, feeling rather refreshed after talking to London. She instantly skidded to halt as she saw the familiar person perched on the edge of Evan's bed talking avidly. Evan looked up at her mother guiltily and automatically pulled back into her shell. Paige could only stare at Mike's innocent smile. 

"Why are you here?" Paige finally stuttered out as she moved over closer to Evan, trying to shake the fear of being closer to Mike.

"I came to see Evan…" Mike said coldly as he turned back to Evan, grabbing onto Evan's hand. Paige couldn't help but feel hurt at Evan's open acceptance of her father touch.

"Mike, you can't be here." Paige stated stubbornly as she walked over to the opposite side of Evan's bed setting her coffee down calmly, or what she hoped appeared as calmly.

"I can be here if I want Paige. Evan wants me to be here, so I'll be here." Mike said standing up and walking around to Paige, who glanced nervously between Evan and the open door. She looked deep into Mike's eyes, almost daring him to hit her. If he did, then perhaps Evan would believe her. "Sit down Paige." Mike said with a tiny patronizing smile. Paige glared at him.

"I can't do that Mike. You have to leave…I won't let you hurt her, not after everything. Just leave…" Paige softened her tone and looked up at Mike pleadingly. "Please?"

"Dammit Paige. I'm not going to hurt her…ever." Mike said angrily moving closer to Paige. It took all of her will power to not flinch.

"Leave Mike." Paige said while standing her ground in front of Evan. Mike's eyes came alive with anger, and he pushed her out the way as he stormed towards the door. Paige started to let out a sigh of relief, but was halted as Mike slammed the door shut, shoved a chair up against the handle, and turned to face her menacingly. Paige gulped as she took a sideways glance at Evan, sitting on the bed watching their every move.

"Mike?" Paige asked hesitantly as she watched him fumble around in his pockets. "Shut up." Mike mumbled starring her down from across the room.

"Mike, you have to leave…" Paige trailed off as Mike whipped out a gun and ran at her, shoving it against her head.

"Dad…" Evan said quietly as she watched nervously from the bed. Mike slowly turned around to Evan and gave her a tiny reassuring smile.

"Evan, babe, don't worry, okay? I'm not going to do anything." Mike said sweetly, and then turned his attention back to Paige, instantly changing his tone. "I'm just trying to get your mother to shut up and listen to me for a goddamn second." Mike grabbed Paige roughly and shoved her into the chair, still holding the gun out towards her. She looked up at him in fear.

"Mike. Don't do this…" Paige said quietly as he glared at her.

"I want custody of Evan." Mike said calmly a moment later as he sat down beside Paige.

"I can't give you that." Paige bravely stated watching Mike's shaking hands. Mike cocked the gun.

"Want to bet?" Mike asked sneering evilly.

"You shoot me Mike, you go to jail. No Evan." Paige said as she confidently turned to face him, allowing the gun to point at the middle of her forehead. She looked into his eyes, momentarily distracting him.

"Gun." Paige said quickly as the gun orbed out Mike's hand, and into her own. He looked at her in shock and she gave him an amused smile. "What? You actually thought that I gave up my powers all those years ago? I lied Mike." Paige said as she stood up holding the gun tightly in her hand, walking over to Evan. "Evan, take the gun, I don't trust myself with it." Paige gave a quick look at Mike. "Go outside and find help." Paige continued, locking eyes with her daughter as she placed the gun carefully in Evan's hand. Evan nodded numbly and shakily climbed off the bed holding her stomach. Paige had one eye on Evan nearing the door slowly, and one on Mike sitting angrily on the chair. Just as Evan reached out to grab the handle of the door, Mike leapt up and cornered Evan. Paige dove at him but he quickly pushed her off and she skidded across the floor. Evan watched in horror as Paige's head smacked against the edge of the bed with a sickening thud, and she fell unconscious. Evan turned her attention back to her father, blocking the door in front of her.

"Move." Evan said as she lifted the gun up to his head.

"You wouldn't shoot your own father…" Mike said confidently as he slowly moved his hand up to grab the gun from her hand. Evan shakily held the gun up as he neared her. "You know, I'm doing all this for you tutty fruity. I love you. I just want to be with you, but I can't. Your mother, she's lying about the abuse. I didn't mean to hit her Ev, I really didn't. It was an accident. You know what she's like, she overreacted. I didn't want to have to use the gun, but she wouldn't talk to me otherwise…" Mike trailed off calmly as he rested his own hand on top of Evan's tightly gripping the gun. Mike starred into her eyes. "Trust me Evan, I would never hurt you, or your mother. Never." Mike said as a tear made it's way down his face. Evan was trembling as she slowly let go off the gun into her father's hand. "Go. Go find a doctor for your mum." Mike said as he stepped out of Evan's way. Evan glanced back at her mother, blood seeping from a cut on her head, and then back at Mike and his gun. She said nothing as she turned back and walked over to Paige. Mike looked down at Evan in impatience as she wiped the blood away from Paige's face with the sleeve of her shirt.

"Leave Evan. She needs a doctor. Go find one."

"You go." Evan said as she looked up at her father, glaring angrily down at her. There was something in his eye that she had never noticed before. She gulped as he moved towards her.

"GO!" Mike yelled as he yanked up Evan violently and pushed her towards the door. Evan stumbled on her feet, but she caught herself before she fell. She turned around and faced her father boldly.

"No, I'm not leaving her alone with you." Mike lifted up the gun in anger and Evan shut her eyes as he pulled the trigger.

* * *

Noah frantically thrust himself at the door as he heard the gunshot go off. Meg and him had wheeled down a few minutes previous to find the door jammed. Meg was worried, but Noah had just shrugged it off thinking that Evan was with a doctor. However, as the shouting from inside increased, and finally as the gun went off, Noah knew something was wrong, very wrong. Meg looked up at Noah frantically as he ran at the door again, attracting the attention of the nursing staff. 

"What are you doing?" A nurse asked as she pulled Noah away from the door, restraining him. Noah fought her grasp, until another gunshot could be heard and the nurse instantly let him go, staring at the door in shock. She looked up at Noah, then back to the door, and finally took off in a full sprint towards the phone.

* * *

Evan watched in slow motion as Mike took another shot at Paige lying on the floor, already covered in her own blood. Paige's body jerked as it took one more shot. Blood started to pool onto the floor. Evan sunk to her knees beside her mother sobbing silently as she watched the three wounds in her chest oozing blood. Evan quickly grabbed onto her mother's limp hand and threw herself over Paige's body in attempt to stop Mike from shooting. 

Mike dropped the gun to the ground as he looked down in shock at Paige's motionless body. He stumbled backwards and sunk down against the wall watching as Evan frantically tried to stop the bleeding. Evan didn't even look at him. He slowly crawled across the floor to retrieve the gun from underneath the bed, aiming it at his head. He took one final glance at Evan, and then turned away facing his back to her. "I love you." Mike whispered as he pulled the trigger falling lifelessly to the floor.

Leo orbed in and quickly pushed Evan out of the way as he thrust out his hand over Paige. She sobbed silently beside him and Leo shut his eyes in deep concentration. Evan held her breath as she waited for the familiar glow. Nothing happened. Leo slowly opened his eyes and turned to her in sympathy.

"No. No. No no no. She's not dead, keep trying. She can't be dead." Evan muttered over and over as Leo reached out to grab his hysterical niece. "NO! Don't touch me. Heal her Leo, heal her dammit." Evan screamed as she looked down at her mother, lying in a pool of her own blood. Leo pulled Evan's chin up so he looked her in the eyes. "You need to help me. You can do this Evan, use love." Leo said quickly, before turning back to Paige. Evan nodded while sinking instantly to the cold floor, lying down beside her mother. She reached out to tuck a piece of bloody hair behind Paige's ear and grasped Paige's cold lifeless hand in her own. Evan reached out to grab Leo's outstretched hand with her other hand and focused her attention on Paige's face, trying to ignore the blood.

"Please mum, don't leave. Don't leave me alone. I can't do it alone. I need you; I need you more than I ever did. I'm scared. I'm terrified. I feel so lost and like I don't belong anywhere. But I belong with you mum, I know that now. I believed you mum, I believed you the entire time, I just didn't want to admit it. I love you. I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for giving him back the gun. I'm sorry he hurt you…I'm sorry for what I did. I'll be good, I promise. Please come back mummy. Please." Evan said as she gripped Paige's hand tightly, watching Paige's face intently for any movement.

"Mum?" Evan asked shakily as tears blurred her vision. Paige slowly blinked and looked back into Evan's eyes. Evan looked up at Leo, whose hands were glowing brightly above Paige's wounds, and gave him a grateful smile. Leo smiled back and Evan slowly laid her head back down beside Paige's.

"I love you." Evan whispered and Paige squeezed Evan's hand.

"I love you too." Paige replied weakly as the blood slowly disappeared from her head. Leo pulled his hands back in satisfaction and gave Evan and Paige one last look before orbing out. As the orbs disappeared, the door burst open and police officers swarmed the room.

* * *

"Evan?" Meg said quietly as she reached out to touch Evan's shoulder. Evan jumped, and slowly turned to look at Meg from her position sitting on the stretcher. Meg didn't hesitate whatsoever as she reached out to wrap her arms Evan. 

"Are you okay?" Meg asked a moment later, feeling Evan shaking in her embrace. Meg took in Evan's tired, pale and bloodied appearance. She nodded silently at Meg, not removing her eyes from the floor. Before Meg had a chance to say anything more, Mel appeared in front of Evan pulling her into a hug, making sure to bury Evan's face in her shirt. Meg watched in confusion, until she noticed the police officers leaving the room carrying out the black body bag. Meg couldn't tear her eyes away and Mel grabbed onto Meg's hand tightly, still holding Evan quietly in her arms. The police soon disappeared down the hall, and Mel pulled back, releasing Evan back into Meg's grip.

Mel didn't say anything while she hopped up onto the stretcher beside Evan, wrapping her arm over both Meg and Evan.

"I…I'm sorry." Evan said quickly a moment later, catching both Mel and Meg off guard, lost in their own thoughts.

"What for honey?" Mel asked quietly watching Evan.

"For being here, in the hospital." Evan mumbled, and Mel instantly opened her mouth to disagree with Evan, when Meg interrupted her, sending Mel a look to silence her. Meg pulled herself away from Evan, and Mel, standing up. She slowly bent down to Evan's eye level, forcing Evan's chin up to look her in the eye.

"Yes, you should be sorry. I'm still mad at you. Well, not mad, maybe more like disappointed. You don't need to say sorry to us, you know that and we know that. You never need to say sorry, you only need to make sure that you don't make the same mistakes. You have to change Evan. I know that you're really upset right now, but to me, that's even more of a reason to say this, because chances are you'll end up in the hospital again. You have a problem. You can't keep pushing everyone away; it just puts you into danger. I thought I got through to you, and in a way I did, but you still turned to drugs. Heroin to be specific, shit that almost killed you. I was right there. You could have talked to me. You could have talked, period, but you didn't. You just did whatever you could to stop from talking. And now you're doing it again. Evan, you just witnessed something that no one should see. You're…" Meg hesitated wondering how much she should push Evan. "You're father is dead Evan. You're not okay, so don't tell me you are. Don't tell yourself you are. Talk. Cry. Do whatever, but don't make the same mistakes…you won't survive if you do." Meg went quiet and slowly stood, breaking eye contact with Evan. Mel looked nervously between Evan sitting silently, and Meg standing up against the wall, watching Evan intently.

"I…" Evan hesitated as she lifted her gaze so she was looking up at Meg. Evan reached out to Meg as the tears started to make their way down her face. "I'm not okay. I feel like I'm dying. My stomach is cramped up. I can't stop shaking. I can't stop seeing his face as he aimed the gun…"

* * *

Piper stared at Paige sitting silently, glazed over on the chair. Phoebe sat silently beside her, at a loss for words. Neither sister had any idea where to start, or what to say. Leo and Cole were off dealing with the police and the media, while Noah and London were sitting with the sleeping Madison in the corner, both watching Evan intently in the corner with Meg and Mel. Phoebe reached her hand out towards Paige a moment later, unable to deal with the silence. Paige sighed and turned towards her sisters with dry eyes. 

"I loved him. I loved him even when he held the gun to my head. Why did I love him?" Paige asked taking her wedding ring of her finger and staring at it. All three were enveloped in silence, until Paige burst into tears, pulling her legs up towards her body in protection, and wrapping her arms around them. Piper and Phoebe both reached out at the exact same time, knowing exactly how to hold Paige. She sobbed silently, oblivious to them and everything that surrounded her. Piper gave Phoebe a concerned look as Paige began to hyperventilate amongst her sobs.

"Paige, breath." Piper said as she rubbed Paige's back comfortingly. "Paige…" Piper said again growing in anxiety as Paige started to go paler and paler. "Paige!" Piper yelled as Paige's breath became more rapid and frantic.

"She's going to pass out." Phoebe muttered at the exact same time Paige lurched forward, closing her eyes. Phoebe leapt forward catching her sister before she hit the ground.

"MUM!" Evan screamed out from across the room as she came running over, throwing herself to the ground beside Paige's unconscious body. "No. No. Not again. Please mum. Don't. Oh god." Evan mumbled crying hysterically. Meg and Mel came to a halt quickly behind Evan, looking down at Paige in concern.

"Evan, she's okay. She just passed out…" Phoebe said gently as she tried to pull Evan back a little bit. Evan pushed her off, not once removing her eyes from her mother. Everything was going in slow motion as Evan watched her mother's chest rise and fall. She could hear Phoebe's voice, but couldn't understand a word she was saying.

"Evan?" Piper asked worriedly after a second, watching Evan violently push Phoebe away from her again. Evan didn't look up. Phoebe and Piper exchanged a look as they watched Evan rock back and forth, sobbing. Phoebe quickly reached out to grab Evan, this time prepared for Evan's struggle. Evan screamed out as Phoebe held onto her tighter. Soon, a nurse rushed over, finally noticing Evan's panic-stricken state, and Paige lying on the floor unconscious. Evan fought Phoebe's grasp viciously, watching as the nurse reached down to check her mother's vitals. The only word Phoebe could understand coming from Evan's mouth was dead. For a split second Phoebe's heart stopped as she looked down at her sister wondering if perhaps Evan knew something they didn't. Her fears were soon proved false as Paige's eyes fluttered open and she looked up at Evan in alarm. Phoebe instantly let Evan go, watching as Evan fell into her mother's arms crying heavily. Paige held her tight, looking up at Phoebe in complete confusion.

"You passed out, she freaked…" Piper said quietly before Phoebe could even answer. Paige nodded solemnly as she turned back to Evan, holding onto her for dear life.

"Evan, I'm okay. We're both going to be okay."

* * *

London bent down in front of Evan, sitting curled up on her mother's lap. Evan refused to let Paige leave her side. 

"I'm leaving with Phoebe and Cole now Ev…" London said quietly holding Evan's hand. Paige gave him a tiny smile and slowly shifted Evan over, sitting her on a chair of her own. Paige slowly stood placing her hand reassuringly on London's shoulder as she started to walk away, leaving them alone. Evan nervously watched her mother walk across the room, and sit down beside Piper, the only family member left in the hospital. Meg had been released, and Leo had taken her home. Mel and Madison had disappeared a long time ago, and Noah had been orbed back to LA in time to make it to the studio for a full day of work. Phoebe and Cole were waiting for London outside in the car.

Evan slowly turned her attention back to London, staring up at her nervously.

"I love you." Evan said quietly as she gave him a shy look.

"I love you too Em, don't ever forget it." London said as he gave her a small smile. He slowly moved to sit beside her on the chair, wrapping his arm around her, and kissing her gently on the forehead.

"Em? I thought it was Ev to you…" Evan said moving closer into his strong embrace.

"It was. But I think I like Emily better…" London said looking at her for approval. She looked up at him with a few tears and he wiped them away. "What? What's wrong?"

"My…dad was the only person who ever called me Em."

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I won't…." London said guiltily and quickly before Evan cut him off.

"No. I…I want you to call me it. I want to remember my dad like that, like you are. I want to remember him as the protective and kind man he was to me for 16 years." Evan sighed as he hugged London closer.

"Okay…Em, I will."

* * *

"I'm here, heal me." Meg said as she slammed the car door shut in the hospital parking lot. 

"I can't heal you." Leo said simply as he got into the driving seat, ignoring Meg's puppy face.

"But dad. It hurts…and I can't type with my cast. Or drive. Or write. Or play tennis. " Meg readjusted the sling around her shoulder and stared at it with disgust.

"You don't play tennis." Leo said as he shot Meg an amused glance.

"Well, I could. But now I can't…. Do you really want to deprive me of my tennis playing? I could be really good, get famous, become rich…buy you a nice car…"

"Well, you can get started on your tennis career in 6 weeks. Until then, you wear the cast." Leo said as he quickly patted her casted arm, while pulling out the parking lot.

"It itches." Meg whined as she stuck a pen down the cast to soothe her itch near her elbow.

"Don't do that. People get things stuck in their casts all the time…" Leo yanked her hand away and took the pen out of her reach.

"Then heal it…"

"Meg!"

"Well? The doctors aren't going to care what happens, as long as they get paid, they're happy. I can be a miracle patient. It's a danger to me, and the elders' precious power of three…I can't protect myself as well as I could if I wasn't wearing the stupid thing. Please dad?" Meg said pulling out the puppy eyes again. Leo slowly pulled onto the shoulder of the road and stopped the car. He turned to face her, and sighed.

"Meg…"

"Please?" Meg said cutting him off, holding her cast out pleadingly. Leo looked around the car nervously.

"Okay. Fine, I'll heal your arm, but you still have to wait 6 weeks to get the cast off…" Leo said with a tiny grin, as he held his hand up over her cast.

* * *

"This is crazy Meg…" Mel said as she held the hammer up over her sister's arm. 

"Tell that to dad. He refuses to help me get it off. My arm is healed; it's just that the stupid thing is still there. We just need to break the shell. Aim it near the middle please." Meg said sitting turned at an awkward angle to allow her sister access to her casted arm lying flat across the table.

"Middle? I'd say the ends would be better." Mel said as she inspected the cast, poking at it to find the weak spots. They had originally tried soaking it in water for an hour and a half, but soon moved onto yanking and pulling. Neither had any impact on the better than plaster, stronger than steel, waterproof and colourful cast of today's modern world. The hammer was one last attempt before they had to resort to power tools. Mel gave her sister one last doubtful look, before she brought the hammer down, fast and hard, aimed directly at the centre of the cast. A large chunk of plaster flew through the air, landing across the room. Meg winced as the hammer narrowly missed her newly exposed section of skin.

"Hey, it worked…" Mel said in shock as she started chipping at the sides of the cast. Meg watched silently as Mel hit the last piece away, leaving her arm free and completely healed.

"Ha!" Meg yelled out as she pulled it out triumphantly, rotating the wrist and marvelling in the lack of pain.

* * *

Paige watched Evan sleeping silently on the hospital bed, holding on to her tightly. Paige still couldn't get Evan's panicked face out of her mind. It sounded stupid, and rather horrible considering the circumstances, but Paige smiled knowing that Evan really did love her. Evan's eyes suddenly jerked open, searching frantically for Paige. 

"I'm right here Evan." Paige whispered as she stroked Evan's cheek.

"Good." Evan said as she gave her mother a weak smile. Paige smiled back and lay down beside Evan.

"How are you feeling?" Paige asked as she held her hand against Evan's forehead. It was hot and clammy, but Paige could tell that Evan was already doing better. The doctor wasn't kidding when he said Evan would be sick. She had been puking her guts out for the last 3 hours and had been riddled with crippling stomach cramps. Paige had fetched the doctor 4 times, thinking that Evan was literally about to die.

"I'm okay." Evan said simply as she pulled the sheet up closer around her.

"Are you lying?" Paige asked already knowing the answer. Evan's face was still pale and Paige was very aware of Evan's shivering, even although Evan was trying to hide it.

"Yes." Evan said quietly as she looked up at Paige sheepishly. Paige smiled, and then slowly took off her sweatshirt, passing it Evan.

"I'm okay, I already have two sweatshirts on, and the blankets…" Evan said pushing it back to Paige wearing only a tank top. Paige shook her head defiantly, and passed it back to Evan. Evan sighed, looking up at her mother one last time before she slipped the sweatshirt over her head. Evan smiled slightly as lay down, resting her head on the sleeve, smelling her mother's familiar perfume.

"Any better?" Paige asked as she let Evan wrap her warm arms around her.

"Yes." Evan said quietly as they lulled into a comfortable silence.

"Ev?" Paige asked a moment later, turning so she could see Evan's face. Evan looked at her questioningly. "Your dad was a great person. Don't…don't think he wasn't. He loved you very much. And…" Paige sighed, but she refused to allow herself to break eye contact with Evan. "believe it or not, he loved me too. I don't know why he did what he did, but I do know that that man in there wasn't him."

"I know." Evan said quietly, before turning away and look up to the ceiling. Paige gulped, thinking that Evan was closing up. She started to panic as Evan's eyes started to close in rebellion to Paige's comments, but was surprised as Evan opened them just as quickly and rolled back over to face her. "Do you remember when I was 5, and you both took me to that cottage?" Paige nodded and Evan continued. "And the boat ride we took around the bay thing?" Paige nodded again and Evan gave her a tiny smile amongst her tears. "And then dad pushed you off accidentally, and then you pulled me in, and then finally we tipped the boat and him over?" Paige's tears now mirrored Evan's and she listened silently. "That's a perfect moment. It just happened. We didn't expect anything amazing to happen, and yet, that's exactly what did happen. I will always remember dad like that. Happy and playful. I remember him kissing you passionately even although I was in the room. I remember the time he taught me baseball, and I nailed him in the nuts with the bat. I remember what it was like before the fighting; so don't worry about me, okay? The way I see it was that life was too perfect for us, so it had to fuck up somewhere along the way. I'm just thankful for what I got…what we got." Evan said sadly curling up against her mother.

"I remember too…but Evan, that past isn't all you or I have. That kind of pessimistic mindset, believing that everything will fall apart in the end is not what someone like you should have. You're too young, and you have too many fun and amazing things coming up in your life. I know everything has been hard on you for the last couple of years, but sweetie, life isn't supposed to be perfect. It's the less than perfect parts that make the perfect ones so amazing. Promise me that you'll try to think positive. That you'll think about all you have, as opposed to all you lost, or all you should have had?"

"I'll try..." Evan said quietly.

"That's all I can ask."

* * *

4 months later 

"Evan! You need to go! We were supposed to be there, like 10 minutes ago!" Meg screamed out up the stairs as she grabbed Evan's backpack of the floor and started packing it for her slow cousin. "EVAN!"

"What?" Evan said as she slowly sauntered down the stairs, still wearing her Pyjamas.

"Why aren't you dressed? You're going to be late for your exam!" Meg exclaimed as she pushed Evan back up the stairs, throwing clothes from the basket of clean laundry at her. Evan made a face at Meg, and then disappeared around the corner. Meg growled, then collapsed on the couch.

"She's late again?" Paige asked as she appeared above Meg moments later. Meg nodded and sighed. "EVAN! Move it kiddo!" Paige screamed at the bottom of the stairs. Evan muttered something resembling a multitude of profanity from above, and Paige rolled her eyes. Paige sunk to the couch beside Meg, and gave her an apologetic smile. Before Meg could complain some more, she was interrupted.

"Oh my god." Piper yelled out from the kitchen. Paige and Meg exchanged a confused look before they ran towards the kitchen and Piper's excited squealing. Piper looked up from the table and offered out a single white envelope to Meg, who shakily took it. Mel sat beside Piper, while 10-month-old Madison crawled along the floor, in confusion to the excitement. Paige gave Meg a tiny smile, before she joined Piper at the table, making sure to step over Madison. Everyone watched Meg intently as she silently stared at the envelope gripped tightly in her hand.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Paige asked a moment later, being unable to deal with the suspense. Piper was nearly crushing Paige's hand in nervousness.

"I…uh…" Meg paused and looked up at Piper. "Can you do it?"

"You're sure?" Piper asked as she slowly stood and took envelope back. Meg nodded and bit her lip as Piper ripped the envelope open, and pulled out a single piece of paper. Piper's eyes scanned down the paper, and then she dropped it in shock, turning towards Meg's apprehensive face. "You did! You got in!" Piper screamed out as she pulled Meg into a celebratory hug.

"I did? You're sure?" Meg asked in disbelief as she looked at the paper for herself. She read it over three times just to make sure it was real, before she started jumping up and down ecstatically. "I did it! I'm going to Yale!" Meg said as she ran over to Paige and hugged her, and then over to Mel, and finally Meg picked up Madison, clapping her hands excitement on the floor.

"Why are you screaming?" Evan said as she appeared in the kitchen, half dressed, with a toothbrush in her mouth.

"Meg got into Yale!" Piper said happily as she watched Meg rush Evan for a hug. Evan did a double take as she looked at Meg beaming, before she threw in a scream of her own and hugged Meg hard.

"Evan Walker, late again." The film arts teacher said as Evan entered the empty classroom.

"Would you expect anything less Mr. Brown?" Evan asked with a tiny smile as she made her way over to him, depositing her video on his desk.

"Sign this sheet saying you handed it in, and write your name on the cover." He said as he passed her a pen. Evan did as she was asked, and passed the pen back. She zipped her bag back up, and looked up at her teacher, sitting casually on the desk, watching her intently. She shuffled her feet along the ground in nervousness as he cleared his throat. "I'll be seeing you around next year Evan?"

"Yes, my mum and I are moving to an apartment next month, but I'll still be in the area." He nodded politely. Evan felt as if he wanted to say something more, but instead, he just stood up and opened the door for her.

"You take care of yourself Evan. Have a good summer." He said as he held out his hand to her. She shook it back firmly and gave him a smile.

"You too. And Sir, I hope that you like my video, I worked long and hard on it."

"I'm sure I will Evan." Evan nodded and started out the door, before she had a second thought a stopped. She spun around to face him and opened her mouth.

"I think you're the best teacher I've ever had…thank you." Evan said shyly as he looked at her feet.

"You know, you're the first person who's ever said that. Thank you Evan, you don't know what that means to me." Evan smiled back at him and nodded, before she turned around and walked out the door, through the halls, down past her locker, through the main hall and out the big front doors. She made her way over to the car and smiled as she saw London waving at her.

"Why hello there." Evan said as she neared the car.

"Hi babe." London said with a confident smile, as he revved the engine. Evan shook her head in amusement and moved in to give him a kiss. He kissed back with force as he ran a hand through her newly shorted hair. He pulled back and gave her a grin. "You getting in?"

"Well, I don't know. My mum always told me not to get into a car with strangers." Evan said as he gave him a playful grin.

"Me? A stranger? But I know you better than you know yourself…"

"Really? Then you would know about my ultra buff, uber protective, easily jealous and ridiculously good looking boyfriend."

"I've heard of him…sounds like a loser." London said with a shrug.

"Yeah, but he's my loser." Evan said as she leaped over the side of the car into the passenger seat, turning the radio station to a rock one, and blasting it.

"Hey, I was listening to that." London said turning it back to the oldies station. Evan gave him a pointed look, before she reached over and kissed him passionately. London groaned as she pulled back and laughed at his pained expression. He glared at her before he switched it back to her station and then enveloped her victorious smile with his mouth. It didn't take long for Evan to wrap her arms around his neck and press him against the door.

"HEY! I'd like to get to wherever it is we're going to before dark!" Meg's voice interrupted their heated embrace as she whipped a book at Evan's head. Evan and London pulled apart reluctantly.

"You're one to talk, miss I don't even need to come up for air." Evan replied as London pulled the car into drive, and started on the road.

"Hmph." Meg muttered before she disappeared back behind the seat to where Dave was waiting. Evan looked over her shoulder and rolled her eyes at London as she saw Meg and Dave tangled up together on the back seat.

"At least they're quiet…" Evan said with a laugh as she turned her attention back to London. "Where are we going anyway?" Evan asked as she fiddled around with the radio again.

"It's a surprise." London said mischievously as he made his way onto the highway.

"I hate surprises." Evan whined as she cuddled up against him.

"And that's exactly why it's a surprise." London wrapped his arm around Evan and tried not to laugh at her scowl.

"Tell me? Please?"

"Nope."

"I'll make it worth your while." Evan whispered into his ear seductively.

"We might be busy, but we can still hear!" Meg said from the back. London and Evan snickered. However, Evan wasn't distracted for long, she turned right back to London.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."  
"Yes!"

"Nooooo!"

"London!"

* * *

Timothy Brown inserted the carelessly labelled tape in the old school VCR. He sat back on his dingy old chair in his ancient office, in the back corner of the art office. The screen flashed blue then a mirror slowly focused on the screen. Looking directly into the mirror was Evan half of Evan's face hidden behind a video camera. Her voice filled the quiet room and her gaze remained steadily fixated on the mirror. "Film is a medium of art, and art is a projection of our very selves. By looking at ourselves, and only ourselves in a mirror, we can begin to understand how to view a film. The entire world is only our perception. We understand only what we know, and we know only what we feel, and we feel only who we are, and we are only reflections of those that surround us, our mirrors on the wall." 


End file.
